It was Ysayle who first noticed that Vrtra’s sleep was growing restless. She felt the slight unevenness of his breath, the tiny shudders that ran through him, the tension growing in his muscles. She sat up next to him, and gently squeezed his shoulder.
“Vrtra. You’re dreaming.”
From further down on the bed, somewhere around the level of the small of Vrtra’s back, the stygian circle that was Phina unrolled with a soft “bbrrrr” and became Miqo’te-shaped again.
“He’s dreaming about Vanaspati,” she said, moving to sit by Ysayle. In the dim light, her pupils were enormous, eclipsing the gold of her irises. Her gaze was intent as she took Ysayle’s hand and then moved both their hands to curl around Vrtra’s.
Ysayle knew the gesture. Phina’s Echo allowed her to walk in the dreams of others, and see their hearts; if their sleep should be vexed to nightmare, Phina could intercede and un-vex it.
“Vrtra,” she said in Dravanian, “you’re dreaming.”
She could ground you, and wake you gently.
Speaking of waking - Yshandre wasn’t yet fully awake. However, even still surfacing from the bottomless seas of deep sleep, he moved to comfort Vrtra too. Shifting under the blankets, he became one himself, his lanky frame a comforting weight.
Ysayle felt him start to rumble.
Vrtra came awake with a shivering gasp, and for a moment he stared straight ahead at nothing.
“You were dreaming,” Phina said, this time in Thavnairian.
“…I dreamt I was at Vanaspati,” Vrtra said. “I dreamt you were all slain.”
Yshan spoke, his voice blurry with sleep: “You had a nightmare. it’s okay. I’m alive. Fandaniel can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Vrtra chuckled shakily, and the tension slowly ebbed from him. “I suppose not.”
“Definitely not,” mumbled Yshan. “I’m six-thousand times more tenacious and annoying than he could ever dream of being. Advisor of Allag, my ass. Try enthralled warden of the asphodels. I’ve been at this annoying-bastard business way longer…”
Ysaye blinked, uncertain of what Yshan meant.
Phina said, “He’s remembering a life before, I think? He feels like he is. He’s not really fully awake.”
Yshan snuggled as close to Vrtra as he could, nuzzling his hair. “I’m non-awake,” he agreed. “You should be non-awake too. Everybody be non -awake with me. I’ll eat the nightmares, Vrtra. It’s not your fault. Nightmares are fucks. I have lava salt and sun lemons to go with ‘em. Lahabrea gave me flatbread. Nightmares are edible. I’ll eat ‘em. Calisse du saint-ciboire d’osti ta gueule maudit cauchemar tabarnak…”
He trailed off into murmuring and purring as Vrtra dissolved into silent laughter.
Phina shoved her face under a pillow and wheezed, and Ysayle’s efforts not to laugh aloud brought tears to her eyes.
it took them a while to compose themselves.
“Even asleep, he’s soothing,” Vrtra managed, smiling now. “He speaks from the heart.”
Yshan nuzzled Vrtra’s shoulder.
Phina said, “He said what we were all thinking, anyway. I’ll handle the bad dreams for the rest of tonight. Not necessarily by eating them? but i can stop them.”
“You needn’t trouble yourself…” Vrtra started.
Ysayle stroked his hair. “It’s no trouble to her, or the rest of us. As Yshandre said - sort of - it’s not your fault that disaster struck here. And you did the best that you could for your people. You acted with compassion and wisdom, and allowed others to do what you could not. And it’s all right now. You’re here. We’re alive. It’s all right.”
“And if the dreams tell you otherwise,” Phina said, “I will inform them that they are lying.”
She curled around Ysayle and Vrtra, somehow.
“A diminutive big spoon, you are,” Ysayle chuckled.
“I am the wall,” Phina mumbled. “I am the bulwark guarding sleep.”
Ysayle stoked her fluffy ears, then kissed Vrtra’s forehead.
“With our sleep so guarded, I doubt nightmares will trouble us further,” she said, and settled down again.
“Indeed,” Vrtra rumbled. “Sleep well, Ysayle.”
“Sleep well, Vrtra. We love you.”
The sounds of Phina and Yshan’s counterpoint purring soon lulled Ysayle and Vrtra back to sleep.
