"Place a Curse Upon My Head, Make Me Sleep 'Til I am Dead." ((OxO // Closed))

This place is magnificent. There would be no mistaking the awe on her face as Zoi looked around the restaurant. From the smiles and warm greetings this strange man received, either he was an important person or these people were very friendly. She'd like it to be the latter, but she had a feeling it was the former, if not a mix of both. Once on the second floor, Zoi drifted away and took a moment to herself to admire the view. For at least a fleeting moment she could picture herself all alone in this dreamscape, not even a pale and strange man there to provide company. Alone, she could bring herself to smile faintly. Alone, she allowed herself to relax.

She got so lost in her thoughts that she actually forgot about Cas and where she was.

Zoi startled when she heard a laugh, and she spun around with wide eyes. Her body had locked up in that instinctual fright, and only relaxed a small bit when she saw it was just Cas, who was looking out the window. Perhaps it was her imagination acting up in this imaginary world, or maybe she had heard correctly, and it was just something he had seen or thought of. She didn't want to think he was laughing at her. That drove her down a bad path, and she wanted so badly to enjoy herself, however short this visit would be. She would have to return to reality soon enough.

"Ah, water will be alright for me," Zoi said, her voice lowering slightly as she averted her gaze from the waiter. A new person has appeared, and she was once again slinking back into her shell of solitude and silence. Cas was already slightly overwhelming with his strange friendliness and willingness to be so kind to her. Just a random person doing the exact same thing—job or no—was enough to make it hard for her mind to wrap around it all.

She's grown up with so much abuse and hatred, it was difficult to imagine anyone thinking they were obligated to be nice to her, or go out of their way to take her to a restaurant for some food. She didn't even know if she'd be able to eat in this dream world, but it was worth a shot, wasn't it?

((It's okay!))

Zoi hummed curiously and lifted her eyes to his face after a moment of hesitation. Something cool sounded amazing right about now, if she were being honest, and she thought it might be a nice distraction from how utterly terrified she was at the moment. She had a fleeting moment of guilt when she thought about how Cas might feel about her silence and demeanor, and that guilt is what encouraged her to sit up a little straighter and finally meet his gaze. "Depends on your definition of 'cool,' but so far you seem to have decent taste." Just those words caused her heart to beat erratically, anxiously awaiting his response.

His laugh was enough to cool her nerves, but when he summoned the dolphins, she melted. Her blue eyes widened and trailed the path of the water creatures, delicate fingers reaching out as if wanting to touch them, them stopping just before. Her lips parted, and she twisted around in her seat to watch them swim around her. "They're beautiful," she breathed when they were gone, reaching out again as if she could feel the air for their lingering presence. She turned to look at him, all guards down as she met his eyes once again. "What else?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, contemplating her answer. This was a dream world, so she didn't know if she could eat or not. There was also her lack of an appetite all around. But she didn't want to be rude, as he had brought her here. In the end, she saw it safer to politely decline food. She tried for a small smile, tucking her clasped hands between her thighs. "I don't mean to be rude, but I would like to see some more before I have to go." Right. Reality would call soon. Her time in class could only be dragged out for so long while in the dream—she'd have to wake up soon enough.

Zoi returned his smile, though it was still small, and accepted his hand with a little less hesitance than before. "Sounds exciting," she said, keeping most of her guards down for this remainder of time. It was only fair to him, as she didn't know if she'd ever be able to come back here again. He deserved to part ways with a girl that wasn't afraid of her own shadow—a girl who saw it as a man coming to beat her. He deserved to part ways with someone that was able to smile and joke. That girl wasn't her, but she could to her best to pretend.

As soon as Cas had her sit down, she had curled her legs up and pulled her knees tight to her chest, now nothing more than just a ball as she watched him work with curious eyes. Curling up was a form of comfort for her, though she didn't have any reason to need to feel comfortable around Cas—though, if she thought about it, maybe it was an unconscious reaction to how comfortable she found herself around this strange boy. Either way, the look in her eyes made it clear there was no more shying away from him, even if most of her face was buried in her arms. She watched him work, and her hidden grin was wide as she saw a bunny form from the mud before her very eyes. She cooed and reached down with one hand, a finger outstretched towards the bunny as if inviting it to sniff her.

She petted the bunny with a finger, a tiny but warm smile on her face. She didn't answer Cas right away, mostly because she was scared of making promises she couldn't keep. From the hazy feeling in the back of her mind, she knew the class was finishing and she'd have to wake up again. As for coming back. "I don't know, but I would love to come back," she said softly, not looking at Cas, keeping her focus solely on the bunny to avoid the crushing thought of leaving. "I'd love nothing more than to stay here forever." She sighed dejectedly and finally forced her eyes to meet his. "But I have to go, and soon. I'm sorry." She bit her lip, then did something she'd never have even fathomed herself doing before.

She leaned to the side, one hand braced against the ground between the two, and reached up to ever-so-gently cup Cas's cheek as she softly kissed the other cheek. "I'm incredibly thankful for what you've done for me. I won't ever forget it, or you," she whispered, hand slipping down from his face as she leaned back to look up at him.

A light rose dusted her cheeks as the realization of what she just did sunk into her mind, then bloomed even more as Cas reached out to tuck a strand of her hair back behind her ear. She didn't know how she felt about Cas at the moment, but she did know that he was the only person she genuinely wanted to be around and talk with. He didn't scare her, or get mad at her for just existing. He didn't try to shoo her away or raise a hand whenever she did something a little out there, such as kissing his cheek uninvited. And his wording as he spoke again, when, made it sound like he wanted to see her again. She hoped that she'd be able to come back, if not for herself but for Cas. "Sounds like a plan," she said softly, eyes darting down for a brief second before flicking back up to scan his face— memorizing it.

(~boop~)

Zoi instantly closed up the moment the new person showed up, and she curled up into a ball once again. She listened to the exchange and was silently thankful for Cas for blocking her from the man's view. King… He must be important, then. What was she doing with someone who answered so directly to the king? Her lips pursed, and she met Cas's gaze when he looked back at her. "Go ahead," she said softly, uncurling her legs and slowly bringing herself to her feet. "I have to go anyway." Indeed, the edges of her vision were growing hazy, the first sign of being forcefully kicked from a dream. I have to hide so he doesn't I'm some disappearing freak. A tiny, tiny part of her said that he didn't care because he was just a figment of her imagination, a boy she had created for her damaged soul and mind. But the rest of her was suspecting that this was different—that Cas really was real, and not her imagination. She hoped that that part of her was right.

Zoi opened her eyes just in time for the bell to ring, and she sighed dejectedly while standing with the rest of the class to escape. I miss him already… Funny. She never missed anyone specific when she was dreaming, but Cas stood out to her, somehow. It had felt like they were actually there, together, and she was tempted to just skip the rest of the school day to go back to that dream world, go back to Cas. She wanted to open up around him. She wanted to get to know him more. She wanted to simply sit next to him and enjoy his presence and magic.

She hunched her shoulders and disappeared into the crowd, daydreaming about the place she had just discovered.

((Bump?))

((We could do a timeskip to the next time she comes))

((Like she's drawn to him, yeah. She'll be at home this time, as it's after school now, and I'll have it be Friday so she has an entire weekend to herself))