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

[Fortunately, her eyes have adjusted enough to the dark that she can dodge the book; it strikes the doorframe and falls to the floor.]

I haven't come any closer. [All at once she's the diplomat and not Ion's friend, voice even and composed.]

[It's hard to say whether he's truly aiming for her -- he can't really see her, after all. Nor can he really hear her. Or at least, no matter what she says, he has no reason to believe her.]

[She's a cultist, after all.]

I... I-I won't... let you k-kill me!

[He reaches down and throws another book, this one more targeted than the last. Though of more concern than the throwing is the way he's breathing -- quickly, practically hyperventilating. He'll pass out at this rate.]

[The second book strikes true, spinning corners-first into Nephry's forehead, above her right eye. Surprised at herself, and at him, she brushes her fingertips over the point of impact and tries to come up with something better.

Staying back isn't helping him, and leaving him alone might be worse. Nephry swallows her better judgment and gives in to what she wants to do - come closer.]

It's all right, Ion, I promise. You're just dreaming. [She has to get to his hands...]

[It's coming. His attacks didn't work. It was going to kill him and add his body to the pile, where no one would ever find or miss him.]

[He screams again and tries (and fails) to jump up and out of the way, but only stumbles back to the ground with a painful sound. He's definitely hyperventilating now, his body soaked in a cold sweat. He won't try and throw anything more at this point, but he will bring his hands up to try, in vain, to push the "monster" back when she gets close enough.]

[She can't stand seeing him this way. Is this what he goes through every night? How have they missed it for so long?

When she's close enough, she kneels beside him and ignores his hands of protest, wrapping her arms around his shaking shoulders. He's still so fragile.]

You're safe here. Nothing is going to hurt you.

[He's in its grasp now. He can feel it -- feel it -- digging a blade into his shoulder. His back feels like it's on fire, and when he screams this time, his voice cracks, letting out only a terrified, near-silent scream.]

[He can't even move, his body stone-still in her arms as though he'd gone catatonic. But tears are still making their way down his face.]

I-It hurts... please, I-I don't want... I don't want to die...

[When she pulls back at his stillness and the broken tone of his words, she is crying, too, without a sound. Her hands take his hands and hold on tight. All he has to do is wake up, but forcing him through it is killing her, her head is pounding and throat closing around tears.]

Nobody's hurting you. It's your bedroom, Ion, please- [As if acting on their own, her hands shake him, gently, once.] Please wake up.

[In an instant, his entire body suddenly jolts, and his eyes widen. And he blinks. And he blinks again, staring blankly straight ahead before slowly looking up at Nephry. He's still breathing erratically and his whole body seems to be shivering... but he's awake.]

[But he doesn't understand. As far as he knows, he hasn't woken up. He just doesn't know where he is anymore. He was just on the battlefield, after all. When he finally speaks, his voice sounds just as broken as the rest of him looks.]

Ne... phry?

[Nephry doesn't know what he can see: how she looks, pale and crying and with blood on her face. One trembling hand touches the side of Ion's face, gently, before she leans forward and pulls him into an embrace again.]

It was a dream. You were asleep. [Due to the late hour or the tenor of Ion's words, or both, Nephry must reassure herself as well.]

[He can't see her very well at all, and even if he could, his mind is still spinning a hundred miles a minute. He's not even sure how he knew it was her, really. He didn't even hear her voice until after he woke up, but even still, he knew it was her.]

[And right now, he doesn't even register her words. He's still not convinced this isn't all just part of the event -- instead, he just leans into the embrace and buries his face into her shoulder, crying. But rather than his usual silent tears, these ones were raw and emotional.]

[Whether intentional or not, he's been holding back a lot of pain from the last draft. And right now it was starting to spill out.]

[Waking him really was the worst possible choice. It was also the only one. Nephry holds him as tightly as she can and lets him cry, hoping their position muffles it enough that the whole house doesn't come running.

It must have been a terrible dream.]

[He cries for a few minutes, still breathing erratically from his earlier panic, while gradually tapering off into hushed sniffling. But he still won't say anything, clinging to Nephry as though he were afraid of being swept away the moment he lets go. Even with Nephry's words from before, he still hasn't realized that it was only a dream, his body feeling absolutely exhausted.]

You were dreaming. [Vividly, complete with eyes open and throwing things, so it is really more like hallucinating, isn't it?] It's all right now, you're awake.

...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.]

[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.]

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.

[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...

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?

[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.

033 ~ [Action/Written]

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