Thought is the Wind (Open)

[Deleted]

For someone who disliked the water, Chad had spent the last hour sitting in the sand while staring at the water, but that wasn't what his mind was focusing on. No, his thoughts were of the family he hadn't seen in some time, and something in him was wondering just how they were getting along right now. The obvious question of whether they missed him or not was brought to the was floating around up there, but the reason why he was thinking about them was what perplexed him. It had all started with a dream of what his life could have been if that day hadn't happened, and it had been a dream with a lot of laughter and a happy family.

"Stupid dream," he muttered right before skipped a rock across the water. It bounced three times before it disappeared beneath the murky surface, and Chad reached for another to find none within reach. Sighing, he resigned himself back to thinking about the dream. "What does it even mean?" There had to be a cause for such a realistic dream, but the obvious one was not the answer that he wanted it to be. It would mean going down a path that wasn't available to him any more.

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia liked walks along the beach. She liked to feel the sand in between her toes and softly exfoliate her skin. This was the next best thing to getting a pedicure. She was walking along the beach with her shoes in her hands. She saw a couple of campers and smiled and waved to them as she went along. It was a beautiful day and Lydia was just taking in all the sun she could get. She did notice a guy along by the water, but what really made her stop and pay attention to him was what he was saying. Stupid dream. What does it even mean? Lydia's psychology knowledge was begging her to say something to the boy.

"Our brains do funny things when we dream," she finally spoke up, making her presence known. She walked over to him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Our brains are highly active, like when we're awake. Some people think it's working out our fears, anxieties, dreams, while others think it's an exercise to improve memory and problem solving." She smiled softly at the boy. "Unless the dream is super disturbing, I usually don't worry about them."

[Deleted]

A voice answering his question pulled him from his thoughts, and Chad turned around to see a young woman going into a detail answer about how the brain worked. Her list included two typical categories and the demigod category, but disturbing had been ruled out almost immediately. There definitely wasn't any monster out there trying to get him to go home, and he already decided that his mind was just working through the issues around abandoning his family like the girl said. "If only not worrying about it was an option, then I wouldn't be sitting here," he said as he returned his gaze to the water.

"Do you have any tips on how to push it out of your head," he asked. She had mentioned that some people had said stuff about the why, so he kind of hoped that there was information on blocking out such thoughts. Chad would normally try to sort such things out for himself, but if there was an emergency then he didn't need to be distracted by the conundrum of his mind. "Unless you are busy. I wouldn't want to take up any more of your time."

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia smiled softly at the guy as the guy admitted he was worried about whatever dream that was bugging him. She had those dreams too, the ones she couldn’t quite shake off. But she learned to quickly forget them, especially since she the brain only remembered one or two of the several dreams that happened during the night.

She raised her eyebrows as he asked how to push it out of his head. She shook her head and said, “Nah, I’m not busy.” She walked over to him and sat down next to him a comfortable distance away. She smiled as she looked over at him. “Most of the time, I just have to remember it’s just a dream. And if that doesn’t help, I try to distract myself with music or books. Not something that would trigger the dream, but to distract you. Most of the time, you’ll forget about the dreams anyway.”

She pressed her lips together and looked at him as she debated whether or not she should tell him the little tidbit running through her head. She finally gave in and said, “Or you can try lucid dreaming if the dreams become too much. It gives you a little bit of control.”

[Deleted]

With her admission that her schedule was clear, it seemed that something close to a class was in session, which Chad was very glad to hear. "Thanks for your help. Left on my own to figure this out, and I might be sitting here all day." This was only true because the dream had cut his usual sleeping time down more than he would have liked, which was making his stressing about it worse.

"Books, huh?" Chad had to admit that focusing his mind on something else had not even crossed his mind, but it did sound like a good solution to his problem. One couldn't dwell on something when a more immediate task was right in front of one's eye, and there were a few books that he needed to finish. "I'll have to try that later, but I'll be careful about avoiding any particular book or song that might just lead me back to the subject of the dream. Wouldn't want to mess up a perfect plan."

Lucid dreaming? A new concept was turning this into a tutoring lesson, and Chad's curiosity was peaked just by the notion of having control over the dream. "How would we go about this lucid dreaming? Meditation, tea or something a little more out there?"

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia chuckled as she shook her head. "Nah, you don't want to mess it up completely. I do suggest fantasy books, like Harry Potter. I like those kinds of books because they take you out of the world for just a little bit and you tend to forget about your problems." She shrugged her shoulders. "You just have to find something you like. I know the Athena kids practically have an entire library of books you could possibly check out."

She pressed her lips together as he brought up the lucid dreaming, clearly not knowing what it was. "Lucid dreaming is being in conscious control of your dreams, but I hear it's a scary practice," she noted, hoping he would take heed. "You'd need to trick your body that you're asleep, but you're mind is awake. So it's like meditation, but deeper. But lucid dreaming can help you take those disturbing dreams and turn it more pleasant." She shuddered a bit at the thought. "But it also can put your body in a sleep paralysis too, which I heard is the scariest thing in the world."

[Deleted]

He supposed borrowing a book was going to have to be his only option to avoid anything that might remind him of the aspects of the dream, but even then Chad wasn't sure if there was any genre that his mind couldn't somehow connect to his family. Even the one series that she named had a problem with it, and its name was Daniel. "That is a nice suggestion, but I'll have to avoid the realm of Hogwarts," he said. Figuring an explanation was needed in order to avoid offending her, his mind raced to think up one that was truthful but didn't reveal too much. "Don't get me wrong. It is an amazing series, but it hits a little too close to home for this."

Of course, books seemed like the safer option after she explained to him what lucid dreaming was and what a possible side effects of it could be, and Chad had to say that he was a little nervous about it now. "Sleep paralysis? Is that as bad as it sounds?" Was it really worth such a risk in order to get rid of a dream?

[Lydia Shepard]

"Okay," Lydia said with a soft smile. "Then not Harry Potter. Maybe you can find something else to distract yourself. Only you know you better than anyone else. I would suggest other books I like to read, but they're mostly psychology books. Most people would find them boring."

"Well..." Lydia said as she stared off into the ocean and clicked her tongue. "Sleep paralysis is when your body is asleep, but your mind is awake." She turned to look back at the boy. "So you can't move. You can't talk. You can't will yourself to be awake. It's literally like you're being trapped in your own body. I don't know if I could ever handle that, so that's why I don't do the lucid dreaming."

[Deleted]

While he wouldn't admit it aloud, Chad thought perhaps reading a psychology book might just be the way to get his mind off of his past. The aspects of learning about something new would probably sit heavily on his subconscious, and if that worked he could probably solve most of his problems by reading various textbooks which would create a win-win situation for him. "Yeah, I'll do some thinking on it and find some genre that will keep my mind off of unwanted things. It shouldn't be too hard."

When she explained what sleep paralysis was to him, he had to admit that it sounded far worse than what he had originally thought, but what were the chances that it would happen to him on his first attempt at lucid dreaming? The odds had to be in his favor, but if he were going to do this then he was going to need help just in case things went south. "So, do you want to be my spotter?"

[Lydia Shepard]

So, do you want to be my spotter? Lydia pressed her lips together as she silently swore to herself. She thought the book idea might work with this guy, but apparently not. She was the one talking people out of bad ideas, instead of talking into them. She sighed as she moved to push her hair out of her face. "I mean..." she said as she lowered her hand. "If you want a spotter, that's fine, but that involves me watching you while you sleep and that's sort of... awkward." She laughed as she realized why it was so awkward to her. "I mean, I don't even know your name. I'm Lydia. Daughter of Dionysus."

[Deleted]

Now that she mentioned it, his request did seem a tad strange to ask of someone after only talking to them for a short while, but the reasoning behind the favor had been sound. She had spoken of the topic as if she knew it, so it stood to reason that she would know if something bad was going on. Alas, there was no way for him to jump back in time and fix his rush to asking such a thing, which meant focusing on not making the conversation anymore bizarre than it was.

"Chad. Son of Boreas, and I apologize for no formal introductions earlier. Kind of got caught up with what you were talking about," he stated. Perhaps he was becoming more lax in his habits the longer he spent at the camp, but there were some things that shouldn't ever be forgotten. "Also, I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable with that whole 'spotter' question. It wasn't my intention to do that."

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia laughed as she waved off his apology with her hand. "It's fine. I forgot my manners as well. So I guess we're both to blame." She gave him a gentle smile to let him know it was completely alright. She was very cautious about letting people beat themselves up. Between Ant and Rayne, she almost considered herself an expert when it came to people's feelings. Then again, being a daughter of a psychology professor and a god of madness didn't seem to hurt either.

"No, no," Lydia quickly said as she shook her head. "It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. I just don't usually enable people when bad ideas are discussed. I just consider this a bad idea because of the potential for sleep paralysis, but having a spotter would be a good idea. I just don't know if I would be the best spotter for you, ya know?"

[Deleted]

This girl was turning out to be filled with good points about everything involved in this conversation, and Chad respected that in a person along with them not being too nosy into his personal life. Although, she probably would have been more vocal in attempting to talk him out of the lucid dreaming thing, so getting off the topic of it.

"Perhaps you are right. I should probably give this whole concept a little more thought before attempting it," he said rather calmly. Exiting that part of their conversation was rather easy, but Chad knew that he couldn't just abruptly end it there. That was both rude and implicating that he was only using her as a source of information, but what to talk about now. "So you said you have a bunch of psychology books. Does that mean that you are studying to be a psychologist?"

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia couldn't help but let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Chad was going to think about it. Thank gods. She didn't want to be the reason why a guy she barely met experienced sleep paralysis because she made that one suggestion. At the time, she didn't think it was something he would seriously take her up on. But now, she could relax.

She shook her head as she smirked a bit. "I'm not really studying to become a psychologist. My mom has her doctorate in psychology, so I guess that interest has gotten me interested in well? I like learning about the brain and how it affects people and their lives, like dreaming."

[Deleted]

If he had thought about it, then Chad might have deduced that her in depth knowledge about the mind had something to do with her parents, but since coming to the camp he always seemed to lump people's interests as being random or having some connection to their godly parent. It was a close-minded way of looking at people, but now that Lydia had shown him the error in it he would start correcting himself on doing that.

"Well, it seems like an interest that could come in handy like it did right now," stated Chad. While he meant it as a simple nod toward helping people with problems in the camp, the notion that it might be applicable for a quest popped into his head, so he filed it away for a later date. "Any other interests besides the mind?"