the war against reality [c]

The strange city of gold and was not somewhere that Katya felt instinctively to which she belonged, and as a result her first few steps within the city of Morpheus had been rushed attempts to find the museum after which she'd be able to find the artful painting. but although she found that the museum, she also found that there was a large crowd of people bustling to get a view of paintings. why everyone seemed interested, she didn't know, but she did now that she'd feel suffocated if she tried to step within the crowd.

so, defeated and feeling a little bored, katya wandered around, trying to find a park or somewhere she could relax in. she found a book on her way (gaea's dream was as boundless as the sky itself), and before she knew it she had found the shade of a brilliant tree to hide herself under. the book pressed closely to her face, katya looked like your usual nobody. besides, a book to your face was a universal sign of do not disturb, and the lovelace girl could only hope to stay unnoticed.

of course the universe doesn't ever give you what you want, and soon enough katya's wandering thoughts were interrupted by someone else's speech. the book was instinctively pulled closer, making a little thump as the pages hit her nose (ow!), and katya seemed to freeze up anxiously, wondering what sort of mistake she had made now. but then she blinked, tried to register the voice, and quietly, innocently, tilted her head so that half of her face was revealed.

one blue eye and a blushing nose greeted cordelia, along with a surprised expression. finally the stranger seemed to burst into motion. "oh, my, i'm so sorry, i did not know this," she said, the shock forcing up her soft yet unmistakably russian accent. she cleared her throat, aiming to speak a little better than that. "i, i.." chickened out of going to my own dreamscape "--couldn't exactly find the museum of fine arts, to get to my own," she lied, the blush staining her cheeks almost brighter than the hair of the girl that stood in front of her. katya stood up (not sure of course, of exactly what she was blocking) and bowed politely. "excuse me!"

she awkwardly stood aside, too embarrassed to look the stranger in the eye.

things were quickly escalating, and at the redhead's quick response, katya offered a slump in her shoulders and a relaxing over her head. she peeked up curiously, watching in mild amusement as the girl put a finger to her chin, trying to remember where the museum was. now that she had calmed down, the blush recceeded and katya seemed to be back to her usual self.

"ahhh, you do?" she asked, nervously, deciding she needed to go through with the lie to save herself from further embarrassment. she doesn't know why the girl's grin is so wolfish, but the smile is contagious- soon even the shy brunette is holding the remnants of a shy smile on her face. "well that's great..." she tried to throw in more enthusiasm, but she'd never been a good liar. "great!" she said, a bit more brightly; like she was trying to convince herself. it did sound better, but not by much.

"oh, ah," katya struggled a bit,using one hand to put the book back into her bag and then quickly offering it to cordelia for a handshake before the moment passed. "there," she said, her voice a whisper, as per the norm. "it is a pleasure to meet you, i am katya." contractions were the hardest part of english; but ah well. she'd get used to them eventually, when she actually tried speaking more often.

katya smiled absently, "yeah, sometimes it's nice talking to people." just not always. "morpheus is so hot when it's like this," she mumbled, softly. as someone who loved and lived for the cold, this weather was simply unacceptable. she's sooner be back in the blissful dawn of her own world. her blue eyes turned to the road in front of her, and she walked without much hesitation, only half her attention on the redhead beside her.

katya gave her a questioning look when she said her name twice and offered a strange but light giggle when the girl. the redhead was incredibly different from the girls she was used to- in their designer labels from head to toe. in fact, cordelia seemed as down to earth as gaea herself, and the way she acted was a breath of fresh air.

"yes, cordelia, i will definitely remember it," katya said, smiling shyly at the girl. she then started walking, not really realizing she was the one leading cordelia when, in fact, she was supposed to not know where it was. "me?" she asked, slightly surprised the girl wanted to know. conversation was seldom pointed her way, and by the constant fidgeting with her bag, it was obvious. "y-yorkshire," she forced it out, even though her lips were already forming the word moscow. "and you?" she continued walking, slowing heading to the museum...oh wait. she paused, and looked back at the red-haired girl.

"ahh, i mean..where do you think the museum is again?" her cheeks were on fire at the prospect of her lie being uncovered, and she could only hope that the girl didn't suspect anything. cordelia seemed kind enough, and even though it would be hard to meet her again by coincidence in this vast dreamscape, katya didn't want ruin the general conversation they had going.

they had arrived to a huge square- and giant tropical trees and gold buildings surrounded them, reflecting the sun's heat in harsh flickers of light, but katya could swear all the heat seemed to be concentrated in her blush right now. "because i definitely do not know where it is, ehe."

lying was not her forte.

"whaa, no." katya frowns, not sure anymore. was there a place called yorkshire in california as well? she had no idea- cordelia must know a lot more about american geography than her, so she's unsure how to proceed. "i meant the other yorkshire," she says, assuming that the one cordelia referred to was the more popular of the two. "in england..." she tried to make it clear, but she didn't know how. her eyes lit up at the mention of canada. "ahh, a friend from the north," she said, tilting her head to the side and smiling; it was a kind of childish connection, but katya made it anyway, in her usual, homely manner.

katya's facing cordelia now with the expression of a child stopped in their tracks, her eyes looking at her feet and she tries to make a hole in the ground so maybe it can swallow her up and leave her there; cordelia saying that is too embarrassing! the red head has already taken the lead, going further, and katya's still stuck in the same place, stammering while trying to make a good recovery.

"i just wanted someone i knew in the huge crowd..." she finally mumbled, though cordelia had already walked past her. katy spun around, half-satisfied with the answer, and chased after the head of red hair. katya catches up, now more determined than ever to look at the ground. she doesn't respond but nods instead, walking straight ahead until she notices cordelia's not to her side anymore. she stops, looks up and realizes that they're there.

infront of both the museum and the crowd that surrounds it.

the museum almost scared her, and the will to go into her dreamworld, the overflowing urge to be in a place where rules and restrictions did not matter... it still wasn't enough to override her fear of confrontation, and so she had been on the fence about it all, and she still was. her eyes looked at the huge double doors with a childish hopefulness, and she stood, right at the border of wanting to go and not wanting to go.

then all of sudden, the girl in front of her, cordelia, seemed to flash in her radar, and all at once katya sensed a familiar feeling coming off her- the twirling of the hair, the quick, dancing eyes. cordelia was just as anxious as she was, she realized, and it gave her a sudden comfort to know she wasn't alone. but the realization came with another sudden act- and katya jumped a little in surprise when the hand was offered to her.

in her blushing and awkward, mouth-opened stare, she almost forgot to take note of what cordelia said. the words shocked her, and so did the gesture. suddenly she felt a wave of admiration for the redhead- katya knew from years of sensing around people's emotions that the girl didn't like crowds as much as she did, but cordelia seemed ready to fearlessly plunge into the moving mass of dreamwalkers. and katya gave her an awe-struck, acknowledging smile, and then a quick nod so as not to lose the perfect moment, and then suddenly her hand was in the red head's.

"mm!" was her short vocalization of affirmation, before she took a step forward and they both headed into the push and shove of the crowd. the crowd forced the two girls to stick closer together than was comfortable, and katya could swear she was heating up. she tried her best to look away and pretend not to blush, but it was rare she'd ever be successful at hiding something.

finally they forced themselves into a hallway with less of a crowd, and katya took some distance between her and cordelia, to get some breathing room. then, she let out a long breath she had been holding, looking at the floor with a mix of relief and triumph. finally she shyly looked up at cordelia.

"thank you," she said, the words having the sort of raw genuineness seen in little school children. "ah, i know the way from here, so..." she realized she never told the girl why she wanted to be at the museum, and briefly considered telling her about her dreamworld. but no- gaea's dreamscape was a scary place, and she though she was shy and reluctant, she wasn't all too naive.