The rabbit hole goes deeper...

Immediately upon regaining...well, you'd want to say consciousness, but you know you are still dreaming technically so...whatever it is that allowed you to open your eyes. When you do open them, you see the scenery is actually quite calm, which surprises you at first. It feels almost...serene here. A small house, the window showing that it is out somewhere in the forest. However, when you turn around, you see that Regan is staring out the opposite window, a somber frown on her face. Walking over to her, you go to talk to her when you realize that you still are appearing as intangible to her...but something in your head is preventing you from simply appearing before her. It just doesn't feel like a good idea, so for what feels like hours, you simply sit there alongside her in silence.

...

.....

.......

..........

The silence begins to get to you as you grow more and more **** for any type of movement to happen, even something as stupid as her shifting her weight from one foot to the other. It just doesn't happen though, and she stands like a statue furthermore.

...

.....

.......

..........

Finally, you seem to have enough, and begin trying your best to subtly manipulate the dream just as Lunaris...or rather, the spectre had taught you. The issue is, you're not quite sure what direction to even take her dream! It already feels so calm, so serene...but it is uneasy at the same time. One wrong move and you may end up waking her up completely and ruin any chance of getting to talk with her. You struggle with this for what once again feels like hours, and when you finally seem to have figured it out...

You jolt up in your bed, Charlotte curled up next to you in bliss. She still hasn't woken up yet, but as you look to the clock...

7:30 AM

"H-How did..." You stutter, confused. How did so much time pass without even doing anything. You felt...powerless. Like you were stuck in a game of chess with her and you were simply trying to figure out the first move. You know you can't scream, lest you wake up Charlotte, but it still feels so frustrating! With Charlotte, it had been so simple, so why now did it suddenly ramp up in difficulty!?

As you raise your arms up, you see a piece of paper is in your hands, rolled up like a stereotypical diploma. Unfurling it, you begin to read the message.

"Hello, wanderer

So, you probably are just as annoyed as I was with how inactive you were in that dream last night, right? Well, worry not! While I was all manic last night, I...might have forgotten to explain to you a key concept when it comes to modifying dreams? Please, fall asleep whenever you can/want so that way I can explain in further detail.

Lunaris Dunne

P.S. - don't worry about the letter, nobody except for you will be able to read it properly anyways. I wrote it in a super secret script that only us Dreamspectres and wanderers can understand!"

For a few moments, you simply stare at the letter in confusion before then resolving in your head what you're going to do. Lunaris, quite frankly, cannot be trusted anymore, it's just as plain as that. After what happened last night, your trust was betrayed by that which was leading you, so the only thing you can do...is go back to Regan yourself and try to change her that way.