It was getting harder and harder for Axel to have a decent sleep, but at this point, he was already used to it. Of course, it didn’t make it easy for anyone – nor him, nor the fellow rebels, nor the possible victims that needed healing. The less sleep he got during the night, the less rested he was and therefore the more time it would take for him to concentrate, which lead to longer healing processes and that was never a good sign. Axel knew that Derek had noticed it as well, but as long as his mentor didn’t say anything against it, he was glad about it; that meant he had at least a little more time to fulfil his purpose amongst the rest of the rebels.
However, there was another reason why Axel wasn’t at the very least trying to have a decent amount of sleep. It was about time when a certain someone experienced or (hopefully) avoided a nightmare-filled night. Sometimes he would fall asleep with ease, knowing that his bond was feeling alright… or, at least, decent. Sometimes he could feel the way she would fight back the thoughts that terrorised her during the night, usually with biting on her skin, which he could feel as if he just dug his teeth into his own skin. Tonight, however, was different.
He didn’t feel pain, at least, not from the outside. It wasn’t pain, it was generally uncomfortable feeling, to the point of suffocation. Then he heard screams; he could swear that he heard Lyra’s voice resonating in his head half a second before he heard it from across the hallway. He didn’t hesitate before rushing to help the girl for two reasons – one, because the less amount of rebels would awake during the night the better; and, of course, the other reasons was because he honestly wholeheartedly cared for her and her well-being. “Lyra–” Axel didn’t even try to be careful. He knew how nightmares worked, he knew that it was nearly impossible to wake her up with soft whispers and a gentle touch. “Lyra, listen to me. This is not real. You’re dreaming. You’re with me, you’re safe.”
Once the young woman woke up and began to process the surroundings, he could take a breath. It could have gotten much, much worse, right? He sat down on the edge of her bed (if you could call it that) and reached his both hands to pull his hair back, exhaling out a long, deep breath. This was not normal, but how do you begin to question something like this? “Can I get you some water?” he offered after a long, almost awkward pause, watching the brunette in bed, wishing nothing more than to help her out as much as he could given the situation.
After the nightmare ebbed to the back of her mind, she remembered it was surreal, an image her mind conjured, never letting her forget it, never having a respite from everything they’ve done to her. Tonight’s nightmare was mild. The shock remained, more so because this time she was awakened by the only person she didn’t want to trouble with this, didn’t want to see her in such a terrible state. She mentally cursed herself for not trying to will herself harder to wake up in time. He did his best to assure her she was safe, but was anyone in this town ever safe? However, she knew what he meant, and she was grateful, her heart warming almost painfully at his word.
Lyra sighed, drawing her palms to her face, before she circled her fingers to briefly rub at her temples. The aftershock finally left her body after a few moments of silence, and unease seeped into her bones. The silence wasn’t really awkward, but there was something heavy hanging in the air as Axel sat on the edge of her bed. She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling, when if fact, she was watching him with her periphery. Her heart drummed violently against her ribs, whether it be because of the nightmare or because he was there, she didn’t want to know, not at the moment. After a few moments, which felt like hours, of deafening silence he offered to bring her water, but she shook her head.
“No. No, I’m fine.” She said, swallowing heavily, and fixing her gaze upon him. “I’m -- I’m sorry I woke you up.” Her words were quiet, somewhat insecure.
