Mike lazily checked the back of his hand for the sharpie mark. He and Robin had been working on lucid dreaming for quite some time, and it was the first of a series of little tests that he knew would kick his brain into gear.
There was nothing. In real life, he'd written the word "AWAKE" so many times that he wondered if he'd given himself a tattoo.
He didn't feel anything change about his perception, which was both reassuring and unsettling. His surroundings, albeit sparse, were in sharp focus. Sounds, smells, the shoes on his feet, it was all crystal-clear. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was wide awake. His heart thrilled with excitement: lucidity had always been very difficult, and he was sure the novelty would never wear off.
"We're lucid, Robin," Mike called into the air, "ready to work?"
He waited for his Chandelure to give some sort of indicator; she really wasn't forthcoming when it came to her dreamscapes. But this one was... Well, it was a little... Erratic? Eclectic?
He was on the outskirts of a group of someones and somethings. He wasn't sure if they were residents of his dreams, or something thought up by Robin. Several Pokemon, mingling with people in varied outfits. A microwave was very happily rolling about.
Just to be sure, Mike checked his watch.
He saw the little hands, nearing half-past eleven. The second hand gave a gentle tick, tick, tick.
He blinked at it. It stayed at 11:20, and the second hand stayed right on its halting course.
Tick, tick, tick...
A coil of anxiety threw itself around his chest.
"... Robin?"
