Darkest Night [DragonSong] [M]

Zero · August 27, 2018, 01:40:05 PM

The drow's ears twitched as he listened to Zahra's voice seem to struggle to find the words she was looking for, Cole couldn't keep his eyes open to look at her. He wasn't sure what it was she wanted to really say, but he nodded faintly when she decided they should talk about it after he woke up.

That sounded like a much better idea than trying to hold a conversation while he was struggling not to drift right off back to sleep.

"Sure Sweetling, whatever you want." Cole leaned more against the wagon and curled in on himself, it wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but he was too tired to care about being comfortable.

DragonSong · August 27, 2018, 01:49:13 PM

She breathed a soft sigh of relief as he finally seemed to relax into sleep, or at least a semblance of it. Another breath, a quick check of his pulse and temperature-- both normal, thank the gods-- a last sip of water for herself before she tucked the skin against Cole's arm, and she packed up the supplies she'd been using before turning onto her side and closing her eyes.

She was asleep in moments, her back pressed partially against the length of Cole's body.

The darkness was thick and dark as she sank into it, enveloping her like a warm blanket. Zahra sighed, for the first time in days feeling her muscles truly relax as she just let the feeling embrace her.

Zero · August 27, 2018, 07:57:56 PM

Cole slipped deep into sleep, body exhausted from the ordeal, and still recovering. The fever induced sleep hadn't been the most restful. He had no dreams, and it wasn't until the wagon jarred him a bit when it stopped again for midday that the drow's eyes groggily popped open again.

"Sweetling?" He prompted softly as he sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Cole was still very tired, but he felt a little better than he had when he'd passed out.

DragonSong · August 28, 2018, 07:02:25 PM

Zahra murmured sleepily, yawning as she blinked her eyes open. "'M here," she huffed, rolling onto her back and stretching out. She nearly knocked into him as she did, which woke up up a bit more. "Ah! Um, sorry."

Flushing a bit, she shuffled into a seated position, then quickly leaned over Cole to press her hand to his brow. "How are you feeling? Did you drink any water? Hungry maybe?"

Zero · August 29, 2018, 05:31:10 AM

Was this what it was like to be mothered to death? Cole gave a wan smile as Zahra leaned over him asking her worried questions. "I just woke up, haven't had a chance to do much of anything. I could eat if we've got anything. Don't worry so much. Scariest part's over, remember?"

He realized the water skin was next to him so he reached down to grab it; partly because he was thirsty and partly to appease his caretaker, the drow drank a few mouthfuls.

DragonSong · August 29, 2018, 05:14:37 PM

The elven girl blushed a bit as she realized how smothering she was being and sat back, absently tugging at a lock of her russet hair. "Right, um...right."

She watched him down the water, unable to completely quell her healing instincts and need to observe, to make sure he was really improving. "How do you feel?" she asked quietly after a few moments, leaning toward him a bit. "If you really think you can keep food down, I can go get you something."

Zero · August 29, 2018, 05:24:36 PM

The honest truth was all the worrying and fussing made the drow a little uncomfortable. Nobody had ever taken care of him in such a way before. Not even his mother had tended to him like Zahra had been doing the last few days. When he got hurt or sick he either found a way to patch himself up and tough it out or he most likely would have been left to die by the other mercenaries.

"I feel like I was trampled by some horses." Cole felt sore, tired, and weak, but he also felt more alert than before. He hadn't eaten a solid meal in days, so he was also starving. "Yeah, I think I can nibble on something okay."

DragonSong · August 29, 2018, 05:41:55 PM

Zahra winced in sympathy and reached out as though to smooth his hair back. Then she seemed to catch herself and drew her hand back to her lap, blushing again. "I'll go get you something," she said quickly, scrambling up so she could move toward their packs and hunt around for some of their provisions.

Food in hand, she turned back and handed a piece of hard tack and some jerky to Cole, settling beside him again. "Just make sure you're focusing on drinking. You've been overheated, and there was only so much I could do to keep you hydrated."

Zero · August 29, 2018, 07:09:34 PM

Cole watched the way she began to reach for him, only to let her hand fall away, her face flushing just a bit with what he assumed was embarrassment. How many times had she smoothed her hand over his brow in the last days? He hadn't been awake to notice the gesture, but he was sure it had been more than a few times.

"Thanks Sweetling. I promise not to skimp on the water for now." He took the food and took a small bite, working on chewing it methodically. Cole was hungry, but eating took energy all on its own and he felt exhausted. At least he wasn't drowsy or lethargic. The drow's mind was starting to work.

"It will take us another good week to get to the Sehra Plains. It'll take almost a week to cross those into Adela. How long it takes from there to get to Serendipity depends on what roads we take." All of it depended on their ability to just make it that far. They had no more money; it had taken what little he'd managed to set aside for her to pay for his passage. At least the caravan would take them to Adela. Cole could figure out the way to Serendipity from there.

DragonSong · August 29, 2018, 07:14:51 PM

Zahra nodded, settling back against the wagon beside him with a soft, tired sigh. She let her eyes slide closed, resting her head back against the wood.

"I think we have provisions enough to get us through to Adela, at least, but then we'll need to either trade or hunt for some food before we can get any further," she murmured, rubbing at the back of her neck absently.

Zero · August 30, 2018, 07:25:02 PM

Cole frowned, staring ahead thoughtfully. He was far more used to hunting people than animals. It made him worry about how they really keep themselves fed once their provisions ran out.

Trading for money wasn't really an option. They didn't have anything to trade. After everything Zahra had been through Cole refused to let her barter away her few possessions. The only thing he had that might be worth trading was his mother's necklace, which was probably slightly valuable with the ruby pendant. Even thinking about it had him bringing a hand up to grip the gem in his hand with a frown.

Kyandria had never been a tender or loving mother to him, and he still didn't know why she had given him the piece of jewelry, but it seemed wrong to part with it. The drow would never have anything else of his mother's to remember her by.

"We'll figure it out when it becomes a problem. Until then it is probably best we don't work ourselves up over it, Sweetling. I will make sure you're taken care of until you find a new home." He had to.

DragonSong · August 31, 2018, 12:34:54 PM

"Right. Of course. Thank you."

Zahra was really only half listening, turning over an idea in her head. She knew they would have to worry about food and lodging soon enough, but at the moment it was not at the forefront of her mind.

She had to tell him about the dreams. She had to. It felt...wrong if she didn't. But how did one go about saying something like that? How was he even supposed to believe her?

"Cole...I was thinking...I mean, not really thinking, I just-- do you remember, you said something yesterday, about...about dreams?"

Zero · August 31, 2018, 02:27:40 PM

Cole simply fell silent, letting himself get lost in thought despite his insistence they not worry about things before necessary. His anxious fretting was short-lived when she started talking to him again, about dreams this time.

"Oh yeah, you wanted to talk about that." He wasn't entirely sure what to say. It felt awkward to bring it up. How did you tell someone you kept dreaming about them? Poor Zahra probably thought he was even more of a creep than before. If that was even possible, all things considered. You couldn't get much worse than what he had been all his life.

"I keep dreaming about you, but...not in a gross way, I swear. You just keeping showing up and talking to me. Half the time you are trying to comfort me. It is the weirdest thing." Nothing about their time together since they met was what anyone would call normal.

DragonSong · August 31, 2018, 02:51:16 PM

"Yeah, um...about that..." Zahra bit her lip, eyes on her lap. She couldn't make herself look at him. Why did she feel so guilty about this? It wasn't like she'd known, she couldn't control it! Hells, she could barely control it now, she hadn't even really tried! Who knew how long it would take her to get a handle on this?

Hold on, focus. You have to tell him.

Right.

Taking a breath, she tugged absently at a lock of hair and glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Cole, have you ever heard...do you know what a dreamwalker, is?"

Zero · September 21, 2018, 07:58:08 AM

At least Zahra didn't seem grossed out by the confession that he had been dreaming about her a lot, that was a start. Cole wouldn't have blamed her, though. Who wanted their kidnapper to dream about them?

"A what?" Clearly the drow had no idea what a dreamwalker was.

DragonSong · September 23, 2018, 11:53:10 AM

"A dreamwalker," she repeated. "It's...a person who can sort of...step into others' dreams. Speak to them, influence them... It's a-- a rare gift, and sometimes...hard to understand. Some dreamwalkers don't even realize they have the ability for a long time, if ever!"

The speed of her words picked up gradually as she continued speaking, until she was tripping over herself, blushing furiously and staring down at her lap.

"I just-- I want you to know that, that I never meant to-- I wasn't trying to-- I didn't mean to manipulate you or anything, I didn't know, I didn't realize what I was doing, I only just figured it out a few days ago--"

She cut herself off, snapping her mouth shut and staring down at the ground. "...I'm sorry."

Zero · September 23, 2018, 12:15:13 PM

What was she saying?

Cole stared at her, gleaming red eyes unfocused as he tried to wrap his head around what Zahra was trying to tell him. It was a lot to take in. His understanding of the last several days was warped and turned on its head.

The drow wasn't sure how much of anything had been real.

"So my dreams of you..." She never meant to manipulate him? Was that what had happened? Had the dreams caused him to act in ways he wouldn't have otherwise? Cole wasn't sure and that was disconcerting. "...it was all real?"

Well, as real as a dream could be.

DragonSong · September 23, 2018, 12:27:00 PM

Zahra fidgeted, unable to meet his eyes. "Well...yes. In a sense."

She swallowed and wrung her hands together, murmuring at the ground, "I want you to know that I-- I didn't know. I thought they were just dreams too, I didn't mean to...invade your privacy like that..."

While there weren't many tales of dreamwalkers that she could really recall offhand, she knew enough to understand that just waltzing in and out of people's dreams like she'd been doing-- unintentional as it may have been-- was quite bad form.

Zero · September 23, 2018, 12:53:57 PM

Did this change everything?

Did it change nothing?

Cole's head was starting to hurt, a dull throb at his temples as he shook his head and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose and squeeze his eyes shut. Frantically he tried to consider everything that had been said and exchanged in those strange dreams that were not dreams.

It hadn't been done on purpose. She didn't mean for any of it to happen.

So all of those kind, comforting touches and words were real? The drow didn't know if that made it better or worse. Zahra was truly that forgiving and gentle even to someone as terrible as him. That alone was overwhelming to consider.

"It was all real." He whispered softly, not opening his eyes but dropping his hand as he let his head fall back against the wagon again. "I..."

He didn't know what to say.

DragonSong · September 23, 2018, 02:53:39 PM

“Cole...?”

Biting her lip, Zahra reached out for him cautiously, Barry letting her fingertips brush against his shoulder before she winced and pulled her hand back.

“It— it was,” she murmured. “I mean...I thought it was a dream too, so I didn’t...I thought you were part of the dream but... Yes.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “Yes, it was real.”