Nightmares (Open)

She stood in the middle of the expanse, short, powder blue skirt whipping around her knees in the dune winds. Her arms were raised, palms held skyward at face level, as if welcoming the bright, blue moon into her. Loose blonde hair twirled and knotted as it was tossed this way and that; bare, sandy feet were planted in a wide stance in the valley of the nearby dunes.

One could say that Natallia had had a bad day. She had woken that morning, baked her Tuesday menu, and had closed her shop having sold less that a quarter of all that she had made. The money that she lost everyday bothered her - the bit of her sanity that she lost with seeing so few people bothered her quite a bit more. ...Lonely. That was the word for her day.

However, her night had only made her worse. She had been having nightmares as of late, typical ones for her: she was being pulled away from her brother, who was hurt; she had found her sister and Kateryna didn't want anything to do with her or just didn't know her; a faceless man with in a white coat was force-feeding her pills. Tonight was a bit different though...her thoughts churned and swirled, images of her past flashing in her mind's eye. She was basically drowning in her own thoughts.

When she woke, eyes emotionless, chest heaving, she had stumbled out of her house and wandered into the desert, only in her linen nightdress.

"Why is it so hard, Mother....?" The Belorussian woman coughed and sank to her knees in the sand, a single tear rolling down her cheek.


[[Sorry this is so very long and...weird. I had this idea whilst half-asleep. Also, I understand that it will be a bit difficult to reply to...but try? Thanks.]]

It wasn't often that Sadiq took midnight strolls anymore, not since when he first moved there. But after long days at work, surrounded by loud noises and heat pounding down around him, there was something deeply peaceful about walking alone in the desert--so long of course as one didn't go too far in their wanderings. He always kept a compass and the city in sight.

He paused at the sight of someone else out in the dunes, though they looked more like they were sleepwalking than anything else. He strongly considered for a moment just walking on and leaving them to their own business, but somehow... Taking a breath and letting it out in a huff, he approached the form, what he finally realized was a woman--girl maybe? He looked up at the moon and back down to her. "Miss?" he said, voice deep and rough, though he tried to speak softly. "You alright here?"

As Natallia heard soft steps approaching across the sand, she froze. When the man behind her spoke, she shuffled through her catalog of acquaintances, trying to place the voice...but she couldn't. A stranger... Her legs tucked and she turned around, still on her knees; she moved backwards using a kind of crabstep and looked up to study the one who had interrupted her dejected musings. He was dark-skinned and tall(to her at least), and he looked decidedly more at place in the sands than her.

After her momentary shock wore off, she looked up at his face, eyes still a bit red. "I...am fine." As Natallia studied him more, she decided that he didn't seem too dangerous... She stood and brushed the sand off of her legs. "I just...I come out here to think. What are you doing out here so late...?" She slid her foot slowly forward, the end of the last question finding her a step closer.

[[Thank you for replying...^.^ ]]

[[Not a problem m'dear. XD Honestly, sorry it took me so long to think of a way of doing so]]

He blinked through her crab shuffle and the rest of her movements, considering her again now that he could see her a bit better. What was it with so many pale people living in the desert? he wonder briefly. It just didn't seem like a good place for them to be. Especially not out in the sands in what looked like a nightdress.

"Somethin' the same," he replied to her question. "Thinkin' and the like. It's a good place for that, so long as you're careful. But it's cool and quiet, which is just not somethin' you get in the city much. Besides, once you sleep in the middle of the day, bein' out at night isn't so odd..." He paused, considering her again, especially when she moved toward him. He adjusted his mask and hat, making sure both were still firmly in place.

She nodded and began to brush at the tangles in her hair with her fingers as he spoke. What he said was true, of course. The main reason she came out to the desert at night, usually, was because it was cool and calm and helped her center her thoughts. It was nice to be away from her shop, her busy street, and the heat of the city. She didn't tell him this though; Natallia was still a bit wary of this masked stranger.

Her hand raised slightly, as if to reach out and touch something, but she quickly decided against it (she remembered her doctor saying something about unnecessary touching...). Instead, she chose to ask a question about the object of her interest. "If you don't mind my asking...why are you wearing that mask? And on a completely different, yet no less important, topic..What is you name?" She tilted her head slightly and gave up a small smile. "Or should I just call you Phantom?"

He blinked a moment at that, considering her again. He'd noticed her reaching out, as if she was considering touching him, and was very thankful that she hadn't actually done so. He was, however, considering offering her the information of where to buy a hairbrush, but figured she just hadn't had time to comb her hair that night.

"I'm wearing a mask because I always do so," he responded finally, completely dodging the question. "As for names, Sadiq Adnan is what I go by, if perhaps I could be given the same favor as far as your own name goes...?" His mouth twisted below the mark. "And I myself am hardly a phantom."

The Belorussian smiled vapidly up at the man as he took his time in answering the question. It's not that she was a happy person or anything...she just liked to gauge people's reactions. Her hair now smooth again, she tossed it behind her shoulder with a sharp tip of her head and regarded him as he answered.

Her brow furrowed slightly at his vague first response but she decided to ignore it for now. "Sadiq..." She said the name a few times, fast and then slower. "I like it. Exotic." She paused for a few moments before remembering that she has been asked a question. "Ah, my name is Natallia Arlouskaja. Some call me Natasha...but I would really prefer if you didn't." Her still congenial expression didn't quite match the slightly threatening tone of the last few words.

"Not hardly...I see." She looked a bit disappointed, but nodded nonetheless.

Behind the mask, he blinked as she repeated his name several times. Well that was... different. She certainly seemed a bit odd at any rate, but there were plenty of odd people in the world and he wasn't going to hold it against her. "It's not that exotic," he replied. "Not around here anyway. Here you're name's the exotic one." He paused for a moment, tilting his head slightly as he considered her again.

"So, not Natasha. Natallia then?" he asked, trying the name out and hoping he got it mostly right. "Or do you prefer to go by somethin' else?" He crossed his arms over his chest, still watching her. "And don't sound so disappointed I ain't a phantom."

"Hm." Natallia seemed to ruminate on his reply for a bit before saying: "I suppose you're right. My accent must sound quite odd too." She laughed softly at herself, a soft tinkling laugh, not at all befitting of her harsh and peculiar nature.

She looked up at him curiously for a moment, as if trying to decide for herself. "Y-yes. Natallia is fine. But you can call me whatever you want." Her tone almost suggested that she might wink at him, but she didn't. "Ah, but that would be ever so exciting. I just love stuff like that..." She sounded as if she might go on a bit of a rant here, but paused to look up at him instead. "You must think I'm quite odd, meeting me like this..."


[[Sorry if my Natallia is a bit too crazy sometimes, btw...>.<]]

He shrugged slightly. "Well, where is your accent from then?" he asked softly, looking her over again. "And how long have you even been here?" Blinking slightly at the sound of the laugh, he tilted his head, a little confused but figuring he might as well go with it.

"And what would you like to be called then, darlin'?" he asked. "Do you make that offer to all the dark strangers you meet in the desert?" he added with a smirk. At her last comment though he stopped, rocking back on the sand a little. "And odd? Darlin', who here isn't to some degree or other? Sure, you're out on the dunes at night. So am I. Admittedly, I'm not wandering around in my nightdress, but it's the same basic deal, huh?" Pausing he shrugged again. "Alright, a little odd, but it could be far worse."

[[Oh, noooo worries. You should see my crazy characters... on second thought, don't. XD]]

"Belarus. I came here a little less than a year ago. And yourself?" As she saw him looking at her, she crossed her arms over her chest a bit self-consciously; though she had on a nightdress and camisole, she had suddenly realized that she wasn't wearing nearly as many clothes as she usually would around a gentleman.

Natallia's smile quickly returned, though her arms remained over her chest. "Natallia is fine. My brother used to call me Nattie.... But no, Natallia is fine. And no..." She laughed her silvery laugh again, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth demurely. "Only ones named Sadiq. So it doesn't happen very often, you see." She nodded slowly as he spoke, grinning slightly at his last comment, a bit of a chuckle in her voice. "Oh, that's good then."

"Been here a bit," he said with a slight shrug. "Before that didn't come from too far away. Istanbul is really just a hop and a skip and a stretch of sand from here." He offered her a grin, trying to ignore just how unclothed she was. Honestly, he was from a hot climate. While many women in his life dressed modestly, he'd seen far worse, and had few of the Victorian ideas about what to wear and what not to.

"Natallia it shall be then," he said and raised a brow as she continued. "You must not meet many people from my region then," he said, a grin still teasing the corners of his mouth. "Since so many of us claim the name Sadiq in one way or another." He shifted on one foot, changing his weight to stand easier. "And beside, life is more interesting with a bit of odd in it."

"Ah, I see. You did seem to quite fit in with this environment..." Though she did like the cool of the night, usually she took her moonlit strolls in a full-length dress with petticoats and everything else. Now she was a bit chilled; she rubbed her goose-pimpled arms smartly, trying to warm up just a bit.

"No, not at all. In fact, I hardly meet many people at all. I run a small shop in Ostnesse that specializes in European pastries and pies. I get a few Europeans looking for a taste of home, but not many locals." She shrugged lightly, bare, pale shoulders rising and falling quickly. "That's true enough. Life gets pretty stagnant when things are quiet...'normal'."

His eyes drifted down to her bare arms again. "What can I say? I stay in the place that suits. Doesn't entirely seem to suit you though," he said with another look. "You look cold. You should come inside, or at least find some coverin'. People tend to not realize how cold it gets at night."

He turned, and motioned for her to follow before addressing what else she'd said. "A shop in Ostnesse eh? We're not so far apart then, as I have one of my own down by the wharf in the heart of the marketplace. The hectic heart of it that is. I'm surprised you don't get more locals though. And we couldn't have life being stagnant now could we?"

She frowned and tried not to let Sadiq see just how correct he was. "Ah, indeed. These changing temperatures don't do well with me at all. I am used to just being cold all of the time. Wearing a lot of clothes, you see. I left my house in a bit of a hurry this evening...I think..." Natallia tried to remember; things were a bit hazy up until the time she had met Sadiq.

She nodded as he turned to stroll away, hooking her arm lightly around his. "Well, I have a very small shop. I don't even have a sign yet, really. Just a board out front with the day's specials..." She paused briefly before remembering what he had said. "Mm, what kind of shop do you have, Sadiq? And my life has been quite stagnant up until just recently..."

The taller man blinked slightly at the added "I think" at the end of her sentence, but decided not to push the issue at all. "Well," he said, voice mild. "You foreigners do seem to wear more clothes than is good for you... But in this case perhaps a coat would have been wise.

Sadiq glanced down as he noticed her hooking an arm through his, and shifted his own slightly to accommodate that with no discomfort to either of them. "No sign? Perhaps we should see about gettin' you one, hm? As for my own shop... it's really whatever anyone wants it to be. I sell all sorts of things... I have a slight specialty in spices, but can get things from most places, and thus sell quite the variety." He paused. "Did somethin' happen to make life less stagnant recently then?"

"I think you'd be correct on this occasion... I just not exactly certain that I was conscious when I left my house earlier..." Natallia's brow furrowed slightly as she continued to walk, the city growing nearer on the horizon. "And as to wearing too many clothes...It is simply what is deemed proper in our part of the world. People tend to dress the way that they are used to."

"Perhaps. I just haven't really had the money to get one yet. My income is...minimal." She gave a cheerless smile as her bare feet padded softly over the sand beside him. "Spices? Perhaps I might patronize your business from time to time then. My current seller likes to overcharge me quite a bit... Ah...yes. It seems that my past has followed me here...I'd rather not talk about that really. But I have also met you, of course. That is rather recent though."

He inclined his head on the point. "True, people often continue their traditions when such things are somethings no longer practical. Which is not always a bad thin' just not... practical." He shrugged the shoulder on the far side from where their arms were still linked. "Ah, so you were probably sleep walkin' then?"

For a moment Sadiq paused when he thought about the sign. "Makin' a sign shouldn't be too hard," he said. "I should have some materials for such. And I wouldn't mind a new customer," he added, grinning down at her. At the mention of the past following one though, a flicker of pain crossed his face, which was thankfully--for his sake--mostly masked by the mask. "Well, I'm glad at least for makin' your life less stagnant." Though he wasn't touching the past with a thirty foot pole.

"That is true. Especially for this occasion. And I suppose for my shop as well. I would probably make more money making some local pastries, but I'm just stubborn enough to only make the ones I already know." She glanced over at him momentarily, wondering about the answer herself. "...Something like that."

"Ah, really? I had thought about making one myself...but I'm almost certain that I couldn't make anything very good-looking." She looked up at his expressions, his grin making her smile as well. This Sadiq seemed to have quite an infectious personality. However, she soon saw a different expression momentarily darken his face - pain, worry? - but she pretended not to notice it. "Yes. I'm not sure I could say the same though...my presence in a person's life is not often a good one..."

"Well, what if you had someone to teach you more local stuff? And honestly, I've found people tend to like the exotic anyway, you just need better advertisin'."

"Well, and speakin' of that advertisin', I'm sure I can either be put upon to help, or find someone who could... if you like that is. A sign shouldn't be too hard to wrangle up, even if you're not too talented with artistic things," he continued with a shrug, not wanting to press but tempted to help anyway. He blinked when she continued, frowning faintly before smoothing his expression out. "And don't be too hard on yourself. People's presence in other people's lives are strange things, and usually quite different on a person by person basis."

"Mm, I suppose that might help. The techniques would be similar, I imagine. Just different flavors. Advertising...?" She said the word slowly, a syllable per step. "I don't really have much advertising..."

Natallia smiled up at Sadiq as he spoke. He did seem like a nice person who really did want to help. She normally didn't take help from strangers, but she trusted him for some odd reason. "I would like that. And I would be grateful for any help. I don't really have much money to pay you with...but I do make decent baked goods." She frowned slightly at yet again having to mention the fact that she didn't have money. It bother her a lot, having to borrow money or get help, but she always seemed to need to...

"I suppose that's right, but I really don't think too many people appreciate having me around. I have been known to be quite...violent...sadistic...insane? I have been called a lot of things...but not many good."

"Techniques tend to be similar," Sadiq agreed. He took a couple steps in silence, considering the problem she was having and solutions. "Besides, I'm used to a barter economy darlin', you wouldn't have to pay me in money if you didn't have it. Feed me, and I won't have to buy the groceries then. Sound fair?" he asked, knowing full well how an offer of charity would probably be taken--he hated the idea and figured others might as well. That didn't mean he didn't believe in helping though--far from it. There just was an exchange somewhere in there.

He looked down abruptly though as he heard the last bit. "You... what?" he asked, not appalled at her but much more at the people who might have called her that. "Why?"

"Mm. ...Yes, that sounds fair." Natallia lightly blushed at having to pay him this way, but was already thinking of what to make. Her menu changed very week and she might as well start planning out this week's. She continued to think about this as they neared the edge of the city.

When she heard his response, Natallia stopped and turned to look up at Sadiq, her expression grim and her voice a bit hard. "I am not always so nice. Many people where I come from are quite frightened of me. My brother in particular..." She frowned as she continued. "I have been doing okay lately because I have not spoken to him."

Sadiq nodded at that. Not only was he more used to a barter economy anyway, but he honestly had enough money as it was. But good food that he didn't have to cook? That was something else, and something worth a bit more to him than the money to buy a week's groceries with.

He titled his head to look at her better though, when she continued talking. "You're brother, huh?" he asked softly, trying to walk the careful line between not insulting the guy and expressing how much he didn't quite believe that. "Ever consider maybe it's his fault?"

"Mm. Well...what type of food do you like...? Any requests?" She was already thinking about a chilled soup and perhaps some nice iced balm lemon tea...but it was always nice to ask. She realized now that she really didn't know much of anything about food in this region, though she really should by now...

Suddenly, Natallia's jaw clenched and her hands balled into fists by her sides; it really looked like she was having a hard time not taking a swing at the man beside her. The only way that she calmed herself enough to speak again was by repeating to herself that he doesn't know Brother, he couldn't...and that Sadiq was quite a bit bigger than her. "No. Nothing could ever be his fault... It is my fault for not being good enough for him..."