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Description
There doesn’t seem to be any cohesive plan of action for the Pokéhumans looking to put a stop to all of this nightmare business – some are reporting that their issues are stopping after finding certain things in the REA, while others are claiming they found them on their own during normal dreams. Arkadiy doesn’t understand most of this oneirology mumbo jumbo; after all of the complications that arose from going into Lottie and Brian’s dreamscapes, he’s just about had enough of this dream crap.

He wants to laugh it off, call it all a wash, but after what he’s seen, he’s starting to think this REA business is a little too much for him. He wishes this was one of those things he could just cut and run on, but even the survivalist in him won’t let him off the hook that easily. Harper and Miguel still need to find those items, as does he. And taking off on his own isn’t going to help anyone, least of all himself. He stuck it out through Lottie’s doppelganger nonsense and Brian’s… well. He tries not to think about what he saw in Brian’s dreamscape. That’s something he’ll need to come to terms with later.

They try his next. He’s not sure what he expects, so it’s at least somewhat relieving when his REA takes the form of city rooftops once they’re all spit out into a physical area. There’s nothing but roofs from horizon to horizon it seems, the sky clear with stars overhead and the breaks between the buildings fading into black beneath them, as though there is no ground. He wonders if he would fall forever should he jump, but he’s got no reason to test it.

The group of dreamers begin traversing the rooftops, jumping the gaps and exploring in search of whatever it is that might be the key to solving Arkadiy’s recurrent issues. It feels strange, leading his new friends on some sort of rooftop scavenger hunt, but it feels far safer in this environment. The others might be nervous about being this far off the ground, but it feels normal to him. He’s comfortable like this.

Clouds start to roll across the sky, blotting out swathes of stars and casting the rooftops into a dreary darkness. Ark wonders if they’re about to get washed out by dream-rain, but he’s pleasantly surprised when the heavy grey clouds begin releasing a slow flurry of snow down onto the traveling avatars. He can feel the cold start to prickle his skin, and when he exhales, his breath fogs in the air.

He reaches a hand up, palm open to catch a snowflake, but he’s surprised when it lands gently on his thumb and he realizes immediately that it isn’t snow. It’s a feather. He plucks it between the fingers of his other hand, examining it, before it seems to crumble into powder and blow away in the breeze. He casts a glance back towards his companions, who are all watching him closely.

“I guess we’re pickin’ up feathers,” he says after a moment, flashing them a grin, before he takes off across the rooftops to continue the search. Maybe they’re looking for a specific feather? A large one? A differently colored one? He’s not sure.

He thinks he’s found it after a few more jumps, attention immediately caught by what looks like a particularly large snowflake cast down from the sky overhead. It’s brighter and larger than the rest, and he realizes after a moment that it’s a feather giving off its own light in the twilight darkness. That’s it. That has to be it.

When he takes off towards it in hopes of catching it mid-fall, however, he’s startled when a shadowed figure bursts from the nearest crevasse between the buildings to snatch the feather out of the air. He wonders briefly if it’s one of his teammates pulling a prank on him, but he realizes quickly enough that the thief is a featureless shadow in the vague shape of a human. He thinks it might be looking at him, sizing him up, before it suddenly lunges at him with a fist cocked and ready to hit.

Arkadiy dodges the attack with a surprised curse, but the shadowy figure doesn’t let up – it immediately starts slinging a flurry of unprovoked attacks against the traceur, keeping him on edge as he side steps, parries, or counters every attack levied against him. He calls for help from the others, unsure where they are, but the moment one of them comes into view the figure seems to grow defensive, like it’s aware it’s being ganged up on.

Ark moves once it’s distracted, faking the thief out to reach and grab for the feather its got clutched tightly in its fist. It gives an inhuman shriek like it’s been burned, startling Arkadiy further, but he doesn’t give up – he yanks the feather out of the creature’s hand.

That’s when the creature tackles him, throwing them both over the edge of the building and into the abyss. The last thing he remembers is the feather disintegrating in his clenched fist before he jolts awake.

Description
There doesn’t seem to be any cohesive plan of action for the Pokéhumans looking to put a stop to all of this nightmare business – some are reporting that their issues are stopping after finding certain things in the REA, while others are claiming they found them on their own during normal dreams. Arkadiy doesn’t understand most of this oneirology mumbo jumbo; after all of the complications that arose from going into Lottie and Brian’s dreamscapes, he’s just about had enough of this dream crap.

He wants to laugh it off, call it all a wash, but after what he’s seen, he’s starting to think this REA business is a little too much for him. He wishes this was one of those things he could just cut and run on, but even the survivalist in him won’t let him off the hook that easily. Harper and Miguel still need to find those items, as does he. And taking off on his own isn’t going to help anyone, least of all himself. He stuck it out through Lottie’s doppelganger nonsense and Brian’s… well. He tries not to think about what he saw in Brian’s dreamscape. That’s something he’ll need to come to terms with later.

They try his next. He’s not sure what he expects, so it’s at least somewhat relieving when his REA takes the form of city rooftops once they’re all spit out into a physical area. There’s nothing but roofs from horizon to horizon it seems, the sky clear with stars overhead and the breaks between the buildings fading into black beneath them, as though there is no ground. He wonders if he would fall forever should he jump, but he’s got no reason to test it.

The group of dreamers begin traversing the rooftops, jumping the gaps and exploring in search of whatever it is that might be the key to solving Arkadiy’s recurrent issues. It feels strange, leading his new friends on some sort of rooftop scavenger hunt, but it feels far safer in this environment. The others might be nervous about being this far off the ground, but it feels normal to him. He’s comfortable like this.

Clouds start to roll across the sky, blotting out swathes of stars and casting the rooftops into a dreary darkness. Ark wonders if they’re about to get washed out by dream-rain, but he’s pleasantly surprised when the heavy grey clouds begin releasing a slow flurry of snow down onto the traveling avatars. He can feel the cold start to prickle his skin, and when he exhales, his breath fogs in the air.

He reaches a hand up, palm open to catch a snowflake, but he’s surprised when it lands gently on his thumb and he realizes immediately that it isn’t snow. It’s a feather. He plucks it between the fingers of his other hand, examining it, before it seems to crumble into powder and blow away in the breeze. He casts a glance back towards his companions, who are all watching him closely.

“I guess we’re pickin’ up feathers,” he says after a moment, flashing them a grin, before he takes off across the rooftops to continue the search. Maybe they’re looking for a specific feather? A large one? A differently colored one? He’s not sure.

He thinks he’s found it after a few more jumps, attention immediately caught by what looks like a particularly large snowflake cast down from the sky overhead. It’s brighter and larger than the rest, and he realizes after a moment that it’s a feather giving off its own light in the twilight darkness. That’s it. That has to be it.

When he takes off towards it in hopes of catching it mid-fall, however, he’s startled when a shadowed figure bursts from the nearest crevasse between the buildings to snatch the feather out of the air. He wonders briefly if it’s one of his teammates pulling a prank on him, but he realizes quickly enough that the thief is a featureless shadow in the vague shape of a human. He thinks it might be looking at him, sizing him up, before it suddenly lunges at him with a fist cocked and ready to hit.

Arkadiy dodges the attack with a surprised curse, but the shadowy figure doesn’t let up – it immediately starts slinging a flurry of unprovoked attacks against the traceur, keeping him on edge as he side steps, parries, or counters every attack levied against him. He calls for help from the others, unsure where they are, but the moment one of them comes into view the figure seems to grow defensive, like it’s aware it’s being ganged up on.

Ark moves once it’s distracted, faking the thief out to reach and grab for the feather its got clutched tightly in its fist. It gives an inhuman shriek like it’s been burned, startling Arkadiy further, but he doesn’t give up – he yanks the feather out of the creature’s hand.

That’s when the creature tackles him, throwing them both over the edge of the building and into the abyss. The last thing he remembers is the feather disintegrating in his clenched fist before he jolts awake.