Nothing ever seemed to work out exactly how she wanted it. Dreams were finicky and the only one who could completely have control over it was the owner. Rhea could not interact with anything in this world. No one would see her because she was merely a guest watching the show. She missed the strength she had once had. There was so much that she had once been able to do but no longer could manage. It infuriated her and it was one of the few times anyone would most likely see actually angry.

Rhea wanted nothing more but to help Eden. She knew that she could not intervene physically but there had to be something she could do. Eden had called out to her when she had jumped into the arena with her but the voice was almost completely canceled by all the noises around them. She could barely make out a thing Eden said but by the motions of the lips, she had to presume it was her name.

Above them, something shifted and Eden was brought to a choke hold being lifted a little from the ground. Rhea screamed as her eyes rose to the sky seeing something that she completely missed the first time. She had been so focused on trying to find a way into the arena that she completely missed the current ruler of the dreams. A voice boomed out again over the area and she began to realize what possible was the history behind her strange new friend. It made Rhea sick.

” I will help you. I promise…” Rhea yelled out but her voice lost its strength towards the end. She was making empty promises that she may not be able to keep. She never liked to promise something that should not follow through. She normally had a thing against making promises and yet she felt like that was all she was doing. She wanted to use her powers to stop if all but all she could do was watch. It would be up to Eden to break through her dream. She must have done it before because there was no one holding the other line of the rein in the living world.

Rhea tried to move closer to her as she avoided the fighting that was beginning to start again. The only thing that she could do was break through the haze and somehow help Eden break free from the chains that were binding her, literally. ” Eden, do not speak. Give me a nod if you must, I am here. This is your dream, not his. He actually controls nothing if you do not want him too.”

Her eyes shifted between the woman and the puppeteer. There had to be something to help Eden breakthrough the dream and take control. She knew it had to be fear that was keeping her in chains in her own dreams. She was cursing many deities at the moment as she tried to think of anything. Then, a smirk grew on her face and she yelled out to Eden, “Have you ever actually looked at that man up there Eden? Those chains are rusted and old. I do not think they could bear against your strength. Take them and pull them, they will break at your strength. I know strength.”

Her eyes shifted up at the man. She wanted to help so bad but she could only hope this would do. ” This is not your worst nightmare. This is your biggest moment of strength. You break through those rusted chains and make him powerless. He is nothing compared to your will and strength.” For a moment her heart ached as the words left her lips. This had once been the very thing she held.

Everything flowed with its normal pacing, Eden's dull eyes staring down her blank-faced competitor. However, every word Rhea spoke seemed to had resonated within her, her eyes righting between the dull and bright state as she fended herself off. Lightning cracked within the sky, and within that moment, the orc's head became whole as he grinned with wide-toothy grin. After all, he was playing with his toys… playing with her.

But he is not in control, is he? echoed through the dream, giving a pause to the crowd and the nightmare, letting Eden perform the final hit, breaking the shackles off yet another doll, leaving it lying there, lifeless. After all, was that work all for nothing? Lightning flashed again, Eden's eyes drawn to this flash as the image of his whole head was replaced with her weapon… the instance of her assault upon him that took his life. However, that was not all.

Those chains are rusted and old.It was Rhea's voice being repeated, shaking the foundation of the realm itself. Within an instant, the smooth iron chains became dulled and rusted. After all, she had been under him so many years, there would not have been any signs of rebellion. Rebellion that was stirred by a simple item…

It was then an item found its way into Rhea's hand: a simple glass of water. It may be nothing to her, but to Eden, it was the trigger to her mutiny and revolt against the massive being. The aid of another that granted her such quenching that she drove herself nearly feral to hunt down and remove that which hindered her, and it was here, yet again, did she find herself bound.

"ROUND 13…" the orc's voice echoed once he brought himself back from the echoes from the sky, moving to take yet puppet from the wall. However, before he could make the links, something stopped him. A tug on Eden's chains! His puppet… pulling back on what held her up! It was not long before a scream bellowed from the tigerkin's throat before yanking so hard that the echo of splitting metal drowned out everything.

"Not… toy…" Eden muttered, her voice still in that massive blend. "Eden not toy! Eden… EDEN IS FREE!" With her hands freed, he could do nothing to stop her from grasping the chain around her neck and pulling hard on it, causing a notable reaction from it. He tried to trip her up by pulling on her legs, but those chains shattered like glass from the attempt itself. It was only a short moment after that Eden was able to finally break through, hurling the massive body over her shoulder and into the ring, where he laid even smaller than the two. Even as she heaved, she stared down the small figure, watching it shake in its boots, just as before when she cornered him and took his life. "Away," she stated simple, turning the orc into dust before shattering the chain that lingered on her neck.

Everything was slowly becoming unraveled. The arena grew silent after Rhea let the last of her words out. The world was beginning to change as Eden let her will take over the nightmare. Rhea could feel her heart thundering in her chest as she watched the world crumble. ”I think… I did something…” Rhea spoke out in a soft whisper. Who knew if Eden would be able to hear her, but she never was good about using her inner monologue correctly. She was well known for talking to herself.

Hazel eyes watched her friend eagerly. Standing and waiting was the only thing that she could do now. The chain began to rust and Eden was fighting against them but it did not appear to be enough. Her eyes darted between everything worried. She did not know what else to say. She knew nothing about the tigerfolk’s past to help with the situation. She wished she knew what had caused her to break free before. She was currently free, at least that is what it appeared like in the living world, so there must have been something she had done to break free.

The mire thought along with Eden’s thoughts cause something to appear in Rhea’s grasp. Her eyes widened as she stared down at her hand. A glass of water? What did a glass of water have to do with the current situation? She knew that it had to be Eden’s doing. The silence was eerie was the sound of mental drowned out the last of the noise. A voice rang out finally that was not the sound of the orc. Her eyes quickly shifted towards to see that it was her talking.

”Eden…” Her words wavered as she moved closer to her. She pulled the orc to the ground and he appeared before them smaller than before. He barely was the size of the two of them. He was rather tiny now that he was on solid ground. With one simple word from Eden’s lips, he disappeared into dust with the shattering of the chain.

All Rhea knew was this was going to be quite the story one day. People’s dreams were always very interesting and made the best stories. The way they made the world around them work off of the thoughts in their mind. To take a horrible nightmare to this, now, oddly calm scene.

”Are you okay?” Rhea spoke out softly now. She was ready for a rest with an enjoyable conversation. She had not expected the dreamscape to be what it had been. She could only hope that she would be able to speak to Eden. She was speaking out words but they had been very few and jumbled through the dream.

It took a while for everything to calm down as Eden heaved heavily, fighting for breath as the shackles around her began to crack and fall off, piece by piece along with almost everything else surrounding them. Every puppet, on-watcher… even the walls themselves slowly cracked and turned to dust  before the wind blowing the fragments away until the pair were left in a barren stretch of desert. However, as soon as Eden fall over, the land itself began to shift, turning more into more of a meadow of grass with the sky clearing away its calamity into a more peaceful state.

"Body… ache…" Eden soon found herself answering after Rhea asked the question so long ago… before finding herself to be… chuckling? She could not even understand why, but she suddenly found herself laying in the grass, chuckling about what just happened, eyes watering up as she looked at a peaceful sky. Once she got that out of her system, though, she pulled herself back up into a sitting position before spotting and taking the glass of water out of Rhea's hands and downing the drink. "Good," she stated, holding up the glass.

Rhea let her hands rest softly on Eden’s shoulder trying to help steady her as she spoke out softly to her. She lowered to the grass below and let her rest her body into her own if she wanted. While Rhea was on the smaller side, Eden still fit her like a glove. The words she had been able to let out was that her body ached, which Rhea could easily understand. She had gone through a lot and it had to have been very taxing on her body even in her dreams.

The awkwardness sank in at that moment as they both rested softly on the grass below. Hazel eyes glanced around the area, only finally taking notice to how different the area not appeared. She silently wondered when the scenery had changed but she was rather happier with the certain area over the previous one. This was far more calming for her, but it also reminded her that they would not need to try to talk. It was a good that Eden was making a couple of words but they were not exactly what she had wished for. Nothing good came easy. Her mother had taught her that.

Eden let out a small chuckle as her eyes stared up at the blue skies. Rhea reminded at first but with the laughter became infectious as she let her body rest in the grass beside her. Her head stared up at the sky but her eyes remained glued to her companion. She was still very worried about her, however, it did not seem like her worry was affecting Eden at all. The girl laughed, cried, then shrugged it off like it was nothing. It helped bring a little comfort but, also, made Rhea even more curious about what she was thinking. What was going on in her head now?

She had so many questions that she was unsure which one, to begin with. This experience had actually been new to her. She had been in many dreams and seen a lot from the minds of others but nothing like this. Everyone’s minds worked differently that it made each situation completely different. Rhea had become very used to thinking on her feet. Rhea was instantly pulled from her thoughts as Eden reached for the glass of water that she still held in her hands. She had completely forgotten she had held it. She was amazed that none had poured the whole time. Maybe the water was so important to Eden that it would have been impossible to spill? Or maybe it had fallen in the other scenery and Eden had made it reappear with her own mind? Dreams were a strange place to be.

Eden downed the drink like it was nothing and Rhea found herself giggling once again. There was something about this girl who kept Rhea guess and she loved it. After everything that happened, she drank a glass of water like it was a fine glass of wine. ”I am glad it is good. You took me for the adventure there, Eden. I guess I should have known your dreamscape would be just as unique as you have already shown us.” She let out a soft giggle after her words and the famous smirk covered her lips as she watched her companion. She wondered what would happen next. What would be the next strange adventure in this dream?

Another chuckle came from Eden after Rhea's comment before finding herself pausing and looking around the area, her face showing major signs of confusion. "Where water?" Eden pondered out loud as the dreamscape continued to shape into the realm of comfort Eden was in, even if it was very simplistic. "You sing… then I tired… then here?" She scratched head in confusion as she tried to understand what was even happening. Did Rhea move her after she fell asleep? And what of her weapon? Her clothes? After all, now that things calmed down, the dream did begin to lean into their current situation as the trees started to form around them while dressing them as they were before they fell asleep.

As she kept getting lost in her thoughts, the shackle around her neck began to crack, bits falling off and disappearing into dust after hitting the floor, as if the collar itself was more dirt than steel until her neck was completely free. However, her neck was still hidden in shadow mostly because she had never really seen her neck before, though slowly adapting her skin color, as if adapting itself to be more comfortable than a floating head.

Being sure to look at Rhea, she asked, "What happen?" hoping she knew what was going on. After all, Rhea told Eden to trust her before she found herself tired.

Rhea curiously watched Eden as she let out a chuckle before letting confusion take over. Eden had finally taken notice of everything that had just happened. She had wondered what her companion actually understood when they were in the awake world. As the words slowly left Eden’s lips, Rhea could not suppress the soft giggles. The poor girl had no idea what was actually going on. She let out words slowly and Rhea tried to give her a moment to figure it out herself. She found it interesting that she had lived through the nightmare to start being confused where she was.

Rhea could assume that the woman normally did not have dreams where she knew that she was in a dream. Rhea used to have them a lot when she was a child. It had been one of the things that caused her to beg her mother to teach her all she knew. She had always wanted to be like her parents. More her father than her mother. He always made magic appear unique in a way that she was always left breathless. Her mother was more down to earth and taught her how to wield her innate abilities as well the basic of survival. It was all lessons that would one day help her, but the thrill of the unknown always called to her. The treasure and adventures that would come from new discovery were far more fun than sitting around growing herbal plants.

As her companion tried to pinpoint what had actually occurred, the world continued to shift around them. The newest event was the shackle around her neck cracked away until there was nothing left but a strange shadow. Rhea’s attention was quickly adverted to the current event, starting with pure excitement at the strange skin colored haze. The color did not exactly help distract from the strange gap between the solid skin. It was fascinating what strange ways Eden’s mind worked.

The woman had let a comforting landscape materialize around them and tried to make herself a neck. Rhea was unsure why Eden did not just look at Rhea’s neck to help her know exactly what would most likely beneath the collar. She could only assume from the lack of a seam on the collar in reality that Eden had spent most her life with it on and not off. The idea of it being off was completely foreign to her and thus the strange occurrence now. Rhea would need to remember to write this experience down once she was awake again. She would not want to forget this strange encounter.

Rhea remained excitedly waiting for Eden to come to some form of conclusion when Eden turned to ask her the words she had been secretly dreading. A frown crossed the siren’s lips for a moment before letting off another soft giggle at the situation. She could not stay upset at a moment like this. It was too bizarre and amazing to not be having the time of her life. ”You are simply asleep. We are in your dream!” Rhea raised her hands up to try to motion to everything around them. She was hoping she was proving her point. ”I weaved my way into your dream with your help. You let me in is the easier way to say it. We are actually sit resting in the tree.”

Rhea head softly titled as she watched her new interest. She did not exactly know if she was explaining everything perfectly but she only could hope that she could understand what she was trying to say. It was a strange concept to get around if you were not used to it. Magic causes a lot of concepts that did not completely make sense when spoken out loud. Her eyes shifted down at her lack of clothing before finally deciding to bring it up. She did not actually care if she was wearing clothes or not, but she was curious on the why of it all. ”Do you always dream of people naked?” A smirk crossed her lips.

"… Dream?" she repeated, as if seeing if that triggered anything in her head. Unfortunately, it did not, leaving her state of mind floating in a bit more confusion until she stated they were still where they were while still being here. Were dreams always linked to sleep? She could hardly think about it. After all, while she was shackled, sleep was a privilege, and since she escaped, she had still yet to fully enjoy it.

"Eden rarely dream," she finally stated, shaking her head after the comment of them being naked still before pointing at herself. "Sleep alert. Like prey." Her hand went to touch her collar instinctively before her fingers waved through the air, blinking at the sudden difference and touching her "neck" as if in a bit of shock. Still, it did not take her long to shake off the feeling and gaze back at Rhea. "Even after what did, I still not relax enough to enjoy sleep.

Why?" she finally came to ask, tilting her head over to Rhea. "Is naked… bad?" Was she missing something here? After all, there was no question about it while they were awake. Why would there be issue within sleep?

“Mhm, dream.” Rhea could not help but let out a soft giggle at her companion’s confusion at her words. She was very curious about why she seemed so confused at the idea of dreaming. She softly explained but it still made Rhea confused but curious. She never thought of the idea of not dreaming. She wondered what it would be like to have no dreams. She thrived off of them, herself because it was one of the easiest ways to enjoy her deepest desires when she was unable to do them. She had a lot of dreams about her family when she went into hiding after her fall. She felt a need to be completely alone and escape the world around her. She partly had wanted to world to forget about her, but part of her still clung to the wish to be remembered. Her dreams always revolved around what she felt she was lacking in her life. She wouldn’t admit that to Eden, but the idea of no dreams felt almost refreshing while being a completely weird concept.

She could not escape the feeling in her stomach as Eden looked at her with the titled head and asked her if naked was bad. Rhea hand quickly came up to her mouth as the laughter escaped her lips. Her body went a little as she tried to control the almost hysterical laughter. She had never met a woman like her and she wanted nothing more to spend forever in this dream with her. The more she started talking, the more she wanted to know more about her. ”No, no…” Rhea breathed out through more soft laughter, ”There is nothing wrong with naked. If it were up to me, I would never dress. My mother always frowned upon the idea, however, she told me it was not proper to run around in the nude.” A large rested on her lips as she watched Eden, even her eyes seemed to glimmer with the happiness she was feeling.

The real smile. Her smile was far different from that normal sweet smirk that was normally plastered against her lips. It was a bad influence that she had gotten from her father. They hid their emotions behind a grin, sometimes until it was too late to let someone see what was actually within. The last time she had felt so free and comfortable was when she was young and running loose in her aunt’s temple. There was always something about her territory that created a feeling of childhood freedom that was almost impossible to find now. She almost could see that little girl in Eden’s eyes. Rhea could almost feel the envy in the pit of her stomach.

“I guess we are starting to see what is similar between us. We both find comfort in just being naked.” Rhea let off another laugh before finally calming herself. Her eyes watched Eden curiously as she finally leaned forward closer. “Why have you not removed your shackle in the awake world? Her eyes shifted to where the man once fell to the ground before back to Eden. “Does he still have a hold over the shackle?”

"Comfort… in naked?" Eden could not help but mutter in return, tilting her head in confusion more, ears drooping down as she tried to get things clicking in her head. She had yet to find a moment outside of her cage that she could call comfort. Hell, even the idea of being free was not as comforting as it should have been thanks to slave hunters wanting to bring her back on a leash and into the ownership of another man. Why could she not be granted such a simple peace?

Rhea's next question snapped her back a bit, ears perking back up and eyes looking into hers before drooping back down again. "Shackle… not remove… No weak spot…" Yes. Unlike those that held her up against the wall like her "opponents" before, the shackle that strangled her was not a simple one. There was no hinge to tear off. No joint. It was forced onto her as if to be a permanent fixture…

Eden was soon finding herself struggling to breathe as she thought about it, sweat forming upon her brow and body. Why… why did it feel so hot? Why was her head suddenly feeling stiff as her neck felt like it was being nearly engulfed in flames? The skin itself began to change, too, as if getting a sudden skin burn as he air soon echoed with a gagged cry. A younger Eden's muffled voice, trying to declare a voice as she panicked… and the orc's voice muffled on top of it. Words worn out by age, but still enough to hold her still as the repressed memory tried to force her into yet another nightmarish state…

"NO!" she found herself screaming, slamming the ground hard to break away the sound back into the voice zone. "No… take… peace…" In her sweaty state, kneeling over, she could feel the tears roll down her cheek as she tried to cling to her latest comfort. Not being naked, but being with Rhea.