distressedude | 033 ~ [Action/Written]

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033 ~ [Action/Written]

[ Late Night - House One ]
[It's late at night when the usually peaceful House One will find itself rudely awoken by a scream.]

[Although it wasn't uncommon for Ion to have nightmares, usually he woke up with little more than a gasp. Sometimes he cried out, but never loud enough to disturb the rest of the house. But with the departure of a number of friends from Luceti, it seemed as though whatever control Ion had been holding onto since the draft had disappeared, and the added stress caused the nightmares to return tenfold.]

[Tonight was worse than usual. The scream was followed by a loud crash, like the sound of something being thrown against the wall.]

[The door is unlocked.]

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[ Action - Written ]
[Following a very unrestful night, Ion will be trying his best to have a normal day, knowing that taking a nap would only make it more difficult to fall asleep that night. So he starts off his day as he would any other, beginning with a morning jog around the village with Colonel. Of course, given how tired he already is, it probably looks more like Colonel is just dragging him around. And at some point, Colonel is going to notice Ion's fatigue and force him to take a break in the most mature fashion possible.]

[After finally getting Colonel back home, he spends a little time in the library reading, but inevitably that proves to be too relaxing an activity and he winds up falling asleep, book still open. He won't be sleeping too deeply though, and just the sound of someone walking past him will probably startle him back into being awake. Though unless you want to see him fall out of his chair, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to walk up behind him.]

[Once he's back at House One, he spends the rest of the evening relaxing. But even though he's yawning and clearly tired, the light in his room stays on, and Ion won't be going to sleep just yet. And even after it seems like he finally has, sometime around midnight, a written message pops up over the network.]

I realize it's rather late, but does anyone have any experience in dealing with nightmares? Or perhaps, a method of how to prevent them from happening?

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...dreaming? [He sounds so tired, his voice so weak it was as though he was barely there.] That was... just a dream?

[He feels like he can't believe it yet. It felt so real -- the cultist, the bodies, the pain in his back. Even now, the muscle around the scar on his shoulder felt like it was cramping up, as though responding to his stress.]

Yes. You were right here the whole time.

[If this has been going on for a while, if it continues, then Ion needs more help than a comforting hug at three in the morning can provide. She'll have to talk to Jade about it when the sun comes up - whether Ion wants it or not. With all his military experience and exposure to horrific things, he might have better advice.

Heedless of Ion's thoughts about his back, Nephry places a hand there, just above his wings, hoping it might be comforting.]

I'm Clove.

I have some problems with nightmares, too.

[Someone else who understands...!]

Yes, exactly. I know they only worry because they care about me, but even so I wish they didn't have to worry so much.

...though I suppose in this case, it is a bit warranted. I wouldn't be asking about this at all if I wasn't worried myself. [They were very very bad nightmares.]

[He doesn't respond at first, bowing his head to think on that for a moment. The timing was certainly right.]

...I have always been a little tense around this time of year. This isn't the first time Luke has disappeared in the summer... and Dist disappeared around this time as well.

[It was strange to think that was nearly two years ago now. And unlike Luke, Dist never returned to Luceti -- much like a number of his other friends who have left.]

[It's hard not to be a little tense, knowing that this is the last place Ion would ever see any of them again.]

[This time, the contact on his back is comforting. Feeling her hand there reminds him that he isn't wounded, and he wasn't just stabbed in the back. But even so, she might feel him tense up a bit at the touch.]

[He takes a deep breath, still struggling to calm down, before gently pulling away from Nephry -- only enough to try and look up at her, but his eyes just won't focus in the dim light.]

...the light. Could you... turn it on?

[The lamp by his bed is in pieces on the floor across the room -- but there's an overhead light as well. She'll just have to get up to get to it.]

[He's not really sure how much is okay to ask. He knows he probably wouldn't be able to say too much about his own nightmares, after all.]

Does it ever get any easier? Dealing with them, that is.

[Anise hadn't really been sleeping well for the last few weeks, and tonight was a special kind of awful, so she'd decided to head to the kitchen, to see if it would calm her down. But, before she could make it to the stairs, she heard an awful scream from Ion's room.]

[It didn't take her any time to change course and start dashing towards Ion's room. Maybe it was because she was so tired from not sleeping well the last few weeks, but she didn't even think that it might be a nightmare. Kidnappers, murderers, Malnosso sneaking into the house, whatever it was that was making Ion scream like that, it had to be bad and she had to save him before it got worse.]

Ion!

[She bursts through the door without thinking, trying to get a good look at the situation. Whatever it was that was trying to attack Ion, it'd have to answer to her.]

You'll be all right here?

[She's only going a few feet, but he felt so fragile and she's afraid of what he might experience if she leaves him alone.]

Yes. I... think the light should help.

[So he can see with his own eyes that this really is just his room, and he really is awake after just having a bad dream. He can last a few seconds on the floor alone for that. He doesn't quite trust his legs not to give out beneath him should he try and stand right now.]

All right.

[She moves quickly anyway, heading for the doorway to flip the switch. There's a bit of a mess on the floor, she can see it when she turns around - books, broken glass, Ion's pillow. Nothing they can't put back in order.

What she cannot see is the (small) trail of blood running from the cut on her forehead where the book made contact. It hurts, a little, but she thinks she's just growing a nice lump and will get herself some ice later. So she rejoins Ion on the floor, smiling through a curtain of worry.]

See? Just your bedroom, after all.

[Unfortunately, Anise can't very well answer to herself. The moment Anise opens the door, a loud crash rings out from beside her, as a lamp suddenly collides with the wall. And as it clatters to the ground, the source is revealed to be Ion himself, kneeling on his bed and all but cowering in fear... his eyes fixed directly on Anise.]

[Chances are she's never seen Ion like this before. His skin is ghastly pale in the dim light, with a sheen of cold-sweat drenching his face. With wide eyes, he starts shaking his head, his voice coming out with a sense of panic he's never used before.]

No... no, please, s-stay away from me!

[It takes a few moments of blinking for Ion's eyes to adjust to the light, but when they finally do, the sight he sees doesn't bring him any relief. In fact, it only sparks that same anxiety he had moments ago, with Nephry kneeling beside him with blood dripping down her face.]

[That same look of horror quickly returns to his face, but then just as quickly dissipates as he realizes the more likely scenario... though it's no less terrible.]

Nephry, you're... you're bleeding. [A timid hand starts to reach up, but is just as quickly recoiled back. His voice still sounds panicked and shaky, even as now.] I... I-I did that, didn't it?

I'm bleeding? [She has the sense not to reach for it with her bare fingers and make more of a mess. Fortunately, this is Ion's room, and a box of tissues lives permanently in here somewhere. Thanks to his thrashing it happens to be within reach; she grabs one and touches it gently to her head, looking as surprised at the blood on it as Ion was horrified. She sees his rising panic and puts that tissue right back against her cut, still working on a smile.]

It isn't serious, I'm all right. [Technically Ion is the cause. Not admitting it to him won't help.] You tried to defend yourself from your nightmares.

[Ion's face may not be horror-stricken anymore, but that doesn't stop him from looking worried, even as Nephry keeps the cut covered. And even though some logical part of his brain realizes it's not that serious an injury, he can't help but think about what if it had been? He could have seriously injured Nephry. And the thought alone was enough to turn his stomach even more than the dream itself already had.]

That's... no excuse. I-I'm so sorry, Nephry. [It's hard to say what part of his reaction right now is due to the dream and what part is due to hurting Nephry, but either way, this is probably the most tearful apology Ion's ever given. It's times like this where it's easy to see how he's still a child, in a way.] I didn't even realize, I... I-I was...

[The sound of the lamp crashing to the floor puts her on edge, but after taking a good look around the room, it's clear that Ion's the only one here. It takes her a minute, but she finally gathers herself enough to realize that there probably wasn't anybody but Ion in here, and he'd had a really bad nightmare.]

[But it doesn't make her feel any better. She's never seen Ion like this before, and somebody breaking in would probably be less terrifying. She remembered how bad Ion looked at the draft, but this was way worse.]

[There's a part of her that feels like she should just leave because this was how she'd expected Ion to react to her when she saw him the first time. But, they'd moved past that, she hoped, and there was no way she was leaving Ion alone when he felt this terrible. She'll crouch down, so that she's eye-level with Ion, and slowly start to move forward, making her voice as soothing and comforting as she can.]

Hey, it's just me, okay? It's just Anise. I'm here, so there's no reason to be afraid, okay?

[Unfortunately, no matter how calm and soothing her voice might be, Ion can't hear her right now. In truth, he doesn't really see her at all -- and her only hint is the way his eyes don't seem to be focused on anything, staying wide and unblinking. Even when she moves, his eyes don't follow her. But he does register her coming closer -- and he cowers away in turn, looking more fearful by the second.]

No... no, please...!! [He shakes his head more, tears brimming in his eyes as he lifts his arms up as though to defend himself.]

[He can see the cultist moving in on him now, still covered in the blood of its last victim. It laughs cruelly at him, taunting him in his final moments. Surrounded by a mountain corpses, Ion has nowhere else to run.]

Please... I-I don't want to die...

Of course you didn't. You were asleep. [Nephry wraps her free arm around him again, as he looks like he might not stay upright without help.] And you're forgiven.

[He looks young indeed, frightened and huddled on the floor in the light.]

Do you want to talk about this, Ion? What happened here tonight?

Sure. You get put through the wringer the way I have, and you're bound to have a few bad dreams.

[Or a lot.]

I've read that what you eat can have a pretty huge effect on your dreams. Think the trick is to avoid late night snacks.

[He taps his pen on the corner of the page. But is that really the right solution?]

If you're looking for something more immediate, though, I might be able to help. Depends on how you feel about brightly colored bats.

I don't think my eating habits have changed at all since they started... [Aside from maybe eating less than usual from stress, but that was more a result of the nightmares than a cause.]

[That next comment tho.]

"Brightly colored bats"?

[He can only sniffle in response. Nephry may have forgiven him, but it'll probably still be a while before he forgives himself. He glances up at her when she asks, before just as quickly looking back down.]

...I don't know. This has never happened before. I-I've had nightmares, but... this one felt so real. I honestly thought I was back on the battlefield again.

[Really, it shouldn't come as any surprise as to what the nightmares were about.]

Something that strong and pervasive may no longer qualify as a nightmare. But you should at least try not to blame yourself, you can't help the terrible things you've been through.

[Jade listens carefully. It sounds like an unfortunate pattern, to be sure. He's also still not accustomed to hearing Dist's name said like that. He looks on curiously as he sifts through his thoughts.]

It sounds like an unfortunate trend, to say the least. [He goes on, making sure there's no judgement in his tone - just a candid observation.] You truly came to think highly of Dist.

I know what you mean. [ And this is writing so he couldn't know, but she's sighing. ] My friends have helped me through a lot, but I still feel like I should be strong enough to not bother them with things.

I'm sorry they've got you so worried. I might not have an answer on how to get rid of them, but if you ever need a distraction I can at least try and help with that.

...he was my friend. [But unlike other friendships in Luceti, rather than going back to a world where they never knew each other, Dist had gone back to a world where they were enemies. Perhaps that's what made it so difficult to accept, even after all this time.]

[It wasn't exactly relevant to the topic at hand, but truth be told, Ion was more than happy to move on to a different topic -- even if only for a little while. Usually he tried to avoid talking about Dist in front of Jade. After all, the man Jade grew up with seemed very different from the one Ion called his friend. But regardless of whether it's just a result of being so shaken by the nightmare or not, Ion doesn't bother to filter his thoughts when he speaks.]

He was always looking out for me. When I was injured on the battlefield a few years ago, he was one of the ones who helped save me. He stayed by my side until we were sent back to the village, and continued to worry over me until I recovered. Even when he complained, I knew he wouldn't have done all that if he hadn't cared about me.

It may not have come close to making up for all the things he did on Auldrant, but... while he was here, he was a good man. And a good friend.

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tags in two weeks late with starbucks (also, let me know if you need a different starter!)

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