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.]

--

[ 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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's unsettling and uncharacteristic. There's a number of possibilities, but Jade knows that his priority is protecting Ion. He sees him bump into the desk - whatever's happening, it seems his senses are impaired somewhat, and that's not good.

Jade swiftly strides across the room towards Ion. He did not want to risk startling him, but it seems that helping him directly may be more urgent.]

Do you understand me at all? Ion.

No... no, no...!!

[He frantically tries to back away as Jade approaches, outstretching both hands to defend himself as he cowers in a corner of the room. But as he does, there's a familiar glow about his fingertips -- the faint glow of fonons being gathered together.]

[Jade better act fast. Because there's no way Ion will be able to properly control a fonic arte in his half-asleep state.]

Ion, stop!

[Jade's voice is almost as alarmed as it can sound, as his eyes hone in on the glow of the fonons. Ion can't be in the right state of his mind. Jade's not ready to try to endure one of the fon master's artes, nor the toll it will take on Ion - nor even more, the chance of someone else in the house being caught in the crossfire.

So he picks up his movements, lunging forward like a wraith, because now stopping the arte is top priority. There's something like martial arts in his movements as he sweeps one leg across Ion's feet to knock him off-balance, then with his right hand he will grab onto each of Ion's wrists at the same time - to hold him from falling as well as to yank Ion's arms in opposing directions.

It was something regrettable to perform on a fon master, but by offsetting his balance and spreading his arms apart, he hopes that's enough to prevent the arte from being cast.]

[The sudden action causes Ion to scream again, and if not for Jade forcing his arms apart, there's no doubt that some reaction would have occurred. But thankfully the light fades away, and for a moment, Ion falls completely slack in Jade's grip. Thereafter, the only sound is that of Ion breathing, still nearly hyperventilating.]

[And he blinks. It might not have been obvious in the heat of the moment, but he hadn't blinked once since Jade entered the room. It's only after staring for a moment or two that he finally looks directly at Jade, as though unable to understand what he was seeing.]

[His voice is strained, and very weak when he speaks.]

...Jade?

[Jade had tuned out the screams - he had to. Restraining Ion before he hurt himself or others had become the priority. As Ion falls slack, Jade brings his arms back down, but he keeps a hold on him. Just to keep him from falling, and to assess his condition.

If he had picked up on the lack of blinking, he didn't take the time to properly register the thought due to the heat of the moment. But it all clicked when Ion blinked. At least Jade was holding him outward, so Jade's proximity might not look as unusual as it could be. Jade's eyes flicker over Ion as he speaks, assessing him all over again. The pieces may be starting to come together now.]

Ion.

Do you remember me now?

[He remembers him. Of course he does, isn't that a silly question? What he doesn't remember is how he got to wherever he was. His body is soaked in a cold sweat, and his heart is pounding loudly in his chest. How did he get here? Weren't they just--]

Where... w-what...

[His mind feels heavy. He's trying to speak, but words won't come out -- it's like he can barely get a breath of air right now. And he doesn't even realize he's crying.]

[Not a Shift - it wouldn't switch off like a light switch. He doubts it's a curse seal, either. But taking a look at Ion as he recovers seems telling as to the true nature of his former state. He can't quite let go of him yet. He's crying and barely coherent. So he keeps Ion held out from him as he recovers.]

The worst is behind us now. It's alright. Just remain calm.

[He may not want to let go, but Ion doesn't have much strength left to stay upright. Even more pressing is the way he slowly bends forward, his face quickly losing whatever color it had retained before.]

[...thankfully Ion has a trash can in his room for paper scraps, because Jade might wanna sit him down and give that to him.]

[There's just a slight widening of Jade's eyes.

And then he is moving like a Lorelai-damned machine, gently plopping Ion into a setting position, reaching to grab said waste basket with a minimal amount of movement and pivoting swiftly to hand it to him.]

[Good job Jade, right on time! Thankfully, dinner was a rather long time ago by now, so there's not much else other than some dry heaving. But, you know, better safe than sorry.]

[By the time Ion finally feels okay enough to pull away from the trash can, he's shivering and shaking like a leaf, somehow looking worse than he had a few minutes ago. He tries to take a few deep breaths to calm down, but they still come up shallow. At least he's sitting down now -- that helps, to a degree.]

[Jade will be patient. He figured there might not be much for him to exert.

He calmly sweeps a sheet off of Ion's bed and drapes it over his shoulders. It's not hard to guess what had affected him so deeply. When there's nightmares that can even leave Jade feeling unsettled, he can only imagine the impact they have on Ion.

He silently hovers nearby as he waits for the fon master to collect himself.]

[When Ion feels the sheet being draped over his shoulders, he reaches up with an unsteady hand and clings to it, pulling it closer. But even still, it takes him a number of minutes before he finally speaks up. His voice, as before, is still weak.]

...what happened?

[Once he speaks, Jade takes a moment to tweak at his glasses and responds calmly.]

You were sleepwalking, Ion. Or perhaps, more accurately, you were sleepfighting. [He sees no need to hide it from him; Ion has to know, in fact, if they're to find a solution to this.]

Sleep... fighting?

[It takes a few moments for his brain to catch up. When he asked what happened, it was under the state of mind that what had just transpired in his mind was real. But the more he hears Jade's voice, the more he seems to realize it wasn't. He wasn't on the battlefield, he was in his room. He was still in his pajamas. He was safe.]

[But it was all a lot to take in, and somehow the overwhelming sense of relief just has him clinging to the trash can again.]

[Jade frowns. Ion seems to still be waking up and getting ahold of things. It's a truly sad sight.]

Take some time to wake yourself up first. It may be easier to process then.

[It takes a few more minutes with the trash can before Ion can even attempt words again. After a few coughs, he finally seems well enough to speak without sounding quite so dazed.]

It was... it was just a dream, wasn't it? [The question is only half rhetorical.] And I'm... not still dreaming, right?

As far as I can tell, you're entirely conscious. [He keels down near Ion, taking a closer look. And he manages a teasing smirk.] But feel free to pinch yourself if the fon master needs absolute certainty.

...I don't think that would work with these dreams.

[Because the more he wakes up, the more he recognizes what sort of dream he just had. Certainly he's woken up on the floor after tossing himself out of bed, and he's even been known to talk in his sleep once or twice... but this was completely different.]

[And he's also certainly never mentioned any dreams like this before. This went well beyond your average nightmare, even without the whole hallucinating part.]

[The smile makes a very subtle fade away as he looks on more seriously.]

Were they related to the draft? [He might as well be direct in asking. It's the prime logical possibility, especially given his earlier behavior.]

[He nods, keeping his eyes low. It wasn't an easy topic for him, and even though he seems to have gotten better at talking about it since the last draft, in exchange, it's taken a larger mental toll on him than it previously had.]

I thought that's where I was when I-- when I woke up.

Yet you weren't awake at all... [He presses some fingers to his forehead as he considers this.] Has this happened often, Ion?

No... at least, nothing like this. I've only ever woken up in bed or just beside it on the floor. And even that doesn't happen very often.

[Even the content of the dreams didn't seem too out of the ordinary. They were always vivid and terrifying. It just looks like this was the first time he's actually projected how he acts inside the dream outwardly.]

I've had nightmares before, but I thought they had finally gone away. I didn't think they would... get worse.

Yet, they have. [He pushes at his glasses.] They've gotten dangerous. You nearly cast one of your artes in this room, Ion, with the coordination of a sleeping man. Action needs to be taken against these nightmares as soon as possible, before someone is hurt.

What?

[He looks up at Jade, and then down at his hands. What if he had actually cast that arte? Could he have hurt whoever came in and checked on him? What if it had been Anise, or Nephry?]

[He tightens his hands into fists and looks at the ground.]

...if I knew of a way to stop the nightmares, I'd have done it ages ago. I don't know what else I can do for them.

[Don't forget Colonel the puppy! Wouldn't that have been a fun situation!

He pinches the bridge of his nose before resting his hands in his lap. He's dealt with his fair deal of nightmares over the years. But he knows that it must be different for someone like Ion - someone who can't just power through them. Someone who doesn't truly deserve them.]

It's true that there is no easy way to cast off nightmares. However, if one can reach and address the issues at the root of these dreams, it may have an effect. Even something like a lessening in severity would be significant progress.

033 ~ [Action/Written]

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