Between the Sheets

Dewdrop was feeling a little better about the new members of the pack. He had talked with Rain about it more. And also a few more therapy sessions than usual. He’d been in therapy since the whole thing with Aether happened. It was definitely helping.

The new ghouls had been there for about a week and the normal tradition was that they would have a lunch together as a pack once the newbies were ready. Today happened to be that day. Now that he was feeling better over it, he was looking forward to it. The only thing he wasn’t looking forward to was the questions. They were curious about their new pack and wanted to learn things and sometimes that meant personal questions.

Dew had gone to the kitchen early. He sat at the table, watching Mountain as he cooked lunch for them all. He hadn’t really interacted with any of the new ghouls yet. This would be his first time talking with them.

“You better not be a dick to them” Mountain looked back at him.

“I’m not gonna be a dick.” He sighed. “At least not on purpose. I make no promises if they bring up stuff I don’t want to talk about.”

“Well you might not be that lucky.” He went back to cooking “Phantoms already asked about where your mate is.”

“I hate this.” He laid his head down on the table.

He stayed like that until the others started to trickle into the kitchen for lunch. Then he decided to sit up. He didn’t feel like talking though because he knew he would be the center of attention here and thankfully his packmates caught on to that and they left him alone for now.

He calmed a little when Rain sat down next to him. He leaned against him, resting his head on his shoulder. Unfortunately for him, all three of the new ghouls decided to sit directly across the table from the two of them.

It wasn’t long before lunch was ready. It was always something simple as the new ghouls were still getting used to these new foods. Mountain had decided on grilled cheese as most ghouls, like most humans, tended to like bread and cheese.

Everyone started chatting with each other. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself so he only listened. A lot of it was stuff he already knew as the new ghouls asked his packmates questions but he also learned some stuff about the new ghouls as well. Like how Aurora was Phantom's slightly older sister and how the both of them were now the youngest ghouls in the pack. Sunshine was closer to him in age, now being the second oldest in the pack and now joined him and Mountain as being the only ones over 100 years old. He hated thinking about how he was the oldest one.

The pack ended up turning most of their questions to Phantom now. They were a runt, just like he was. He had already figured that out. It wasn’t always easy for other ghouls to figure out unless it was obvious, but runts tended to easily find out when another ghoul was also a runt. He also learned that they were nearly blind. While their eyes were naturally black, the scar that covered the left side of their face also included the left eye, rendering it completely useless. It had also invaded their right eye as well. They could see somewhat out of it, but what they could see was blurry. This only concluded his theory that the scar was caused by some kind of magic.

His luck had run out though as a question was finally directed at him.

“I’ve never seen a fire ghoul with such long hair.” Sunshine was looking right at him. “Did you keep it that long in the pit or did you decide to grow it out after you were summoned?”

It was an innocent question. He would’ve been thinking that too. Especially if he was part fire like she was. Fire ghouls tended to keep their hair shorter as they often got into fights and long hair was just another thing that could be grabbed. But if he was going to answer he would have to tell them all about how he forcefully had his element changed and he didn’t really want to talk about it and that was also an awful thing to learn about right after being summoned. They had been told that this place was safe. Even if it was safer than the pits, it still wasn’t that safe.

“I wasn’t always a fire ghoul.” He could feel everyone’s eyes on him now. The newer ghouls staring in confusion and the older ones surprised that he was actually talking and not ignoring the question.

“What do you mean?” She only looked more confused.

“It’s a long story and I don’t really want to talk about it but I used to be a water ghoul.” He wanted to leave it there but he could already feel anger bubbling up. “They decided that instead of just summoning a new fire ghoul they’d just make one and they thought the perfect ghoul to do that to was a water ghoul and it almost killed me but they didn’t care because they could just summon another water ghoul and do it to that one too.”

The newer ghouls were staring at him, obviously scared by the revelation that they weren’t really all that safe there. Though that didn’t stop Sunshine from having more to say.

“Oh. I thought you were a runt because you’re a little small for a fire ghoul.” She seemed to want to ask more but she decided to keep it in.

“No, you’re right about that.” It was no use for him to keep it a secret. “I am a runt. It’s just more obvious now that I’m a fire ghoul.”

He was happy when someone else decided to ask some questions. Though he was only a few more bites into his sandwich before the question he was dreading came up.

“Where is your mate at?” It was Phantom. “You have a mate bond but I haven’t seen them yet.”

He hated that quints could see who was bonded to who. He could’ve kept it a secret that he was mated but that just wasn’t the case.

“He’s not fucking here.” He was trying to not lose his shit completely. He didn’t want to talk about Aether.

“Where is he?” Phantom decided to keep pressing about it. Clearly they didn’t get the hint that he was done talking about it.

“He’s not welcome here anymore after he fucked with all of our heads and tried to turn us into mindless puppets.” Yeah not losing his shit wasn’t really working. He saw Phantom getting ready to speak but he cut them off. “How about I ask you some deeply personal questions? See how you like it? What the fuck happened to your face? Someone wanted to pick on the little runt who couldn’t defend themselves?”

He hated himself as soon as it left his mouth but even now, years later, he still had no control over his fiery temper. He still hurt people without meaning to.

He got up and started to head toward the door. He needed to go cool off. The carnage didn’t happen to be over though.

“Dew?” He flinched a little at the sound of Rain’s voice. “Take the sandwich with you at least.”

He knew that Rain was only looking after him. He still hadn’t gained back most of the weight he had lost from the elemental change. But right now was not the time.

“I don’t want the fucking sandwich!” He turned back toward the table and actually grabbed his plate, throwing it to the floor.

The fear in Rain’s eyes as he did that, even moving further away from him, instantly melted the anger away. He hadn’t meant to scare him like that.

“I-I didn’t…” he didn’t even know what to say right now. He couldn’t look at anyone else right now. He could feel eight pairs of eyes on him and he couldn’t take it right now.

He turned around and ran. He headed to his usual running away spot. The lake. Even if he couldn’t mindlessly swim around for hours and forget all his worries, he could still relax next to the water. Even as a fire ghoul, the water still seemed to calm him down.

It didn’t take long for Rain to find him out there. It was where he always went when he needed to clear his head or just needed a break. He had decided to go out to the end of the dock and dangle his legs over the edge. It was a bit of a dangerous game at the moment. The dock was covered in ice and so was the lake. One wrong move and he’d slip right off, falling through the ice. He’d probably die from the cold. Any ghoul other than a water ghoul probably would eventually. He likely would in less than a minute.

Now that he was thinking about the cold, he only now realized how much he was shivering. He was only wearing a sweater. He would’ve grabbed a coat or maybe even two if he hadn’t rushed out so quickly. It was actively snowing. It was a light snow but still too cold for him.

“I know you enjoy being stubborn but you should go to the infirmary just to be sure you didn’t get too cold.” Rain sat down next to Dew, grabbing his hand to hold. There was no hiding the concern on his face, though. “You feel cold.”

“I didn’t mean to get upset…” he looked up at him. “They all probably think I’m awful…”

“I know you didn’t.” He got up, helping Dew get up as well. “They don’t think that. I’m sure they understand.”

“And what if they don’t?” He started to walk back. He continued to hold his hand though. “They probably think I’m crazy. And they definitely think I’m an asshole.”

“Well you were a bit of an asshole.” He couldn’t defend him there.

“I know that.” He didn’t really want to talk about it anymore at the moment.

It was still another minute or two before they made it back inside. He felt better as soon as they walked in. The infirmary was close to the front of the building and since it was slow they were able to take him back pretty quickly.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to be there for long. He was perfectly fine. He wasn’t out there long enough to cause any harm but he did need to be more careful.

He hurried toward the exit as soon as he was told he could leave. He was always worried that he’d run into Aether there and right now, he could smell his scent so he had to be nearby.

He made a beeline toward the door but he decided to risk a glance back. Aether was in the waiting room. And he was talking to Phantom.

He froze there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Rain hadn’t looked back, but he tugged on Dew’s arm. He wanted out of there too, not wanting anything to do with Aether.

Dew moved again after a few moments. He had settled on feeling rage. He couldn’t believe Aether had the audacity to talk to the new members of his old pack.

He didn’t care what kind of conversation they were having, he shoved Phantom behind himself, wanting to keep them further away from Aether.

“How fucking dare you!” He shoved Aether back. Or, at least he tried to. He didn’t move an inch. “How dare you talk to them! If I find you talking to them or anyone else in my pack I swear I will put you in the ground!”

“They were next in line.” He said it nonchalantly. It only pissed Dew off more. He knew what he was doing. “I’m just doing my job.”

“You could’ve made them wait longer!” His anger was not dying down at all.

“No, I couldn’t have” he actually reached out and grabbed Dew’s arm. He knew what he was doing.

Dew didn’t know how to react to that. His anger was starting to morph into fear. He knew that every other ghoul in that room could smell it, including Aether. Though he was sure that’s what he wanted. He didn’t know why he was doing this. He hadn’t been this close to him since everything went down. He had never wanted to be this close to him again.

Aether pulled him closer, leaning close enough to whisper in his ear. “I can do whatever I want. And I will get whatever I want. And wanna know what I really want? I really want you back with me. Eventually, you’ll be back with me. Even if I have to drag you away from your pack and keep you locked in my room. You will be mine.”

As if nothing even happened, Aether let go of him and walked away. Dew kept his eyes on him until he was gone. He felt someone touch his shoulder, and flinched away. He turned around, only to see that it was just Rain.

Rain had started to say something but Dew was already on his way to the door. Panic was already starting to set in. He needed to get somewhere safe.

He started to head back to the dorms. He was feeling disoriented though. Nothing felt familiar. He didn’t know where he was right now. It only made the panic set in even faster.

He could sense that someone else was in the hall with him, following after him. He was too scared to look back. He could smell Aether. It had to be him. He took off running, just trying to lose him.

He could hear the footsteps getting closer. He was too scared to look behind him. He just kept on running. He had to get away.

The thing was, the only other person in that hallway was Rain. He was having a flashback. A very vivid one. And right now, in his head, it wasn’t Rain. It was Aether.

He felt relief for a brief moment when the room to the dorms came into view. He hurried in, slamming the door behind him. He collapsed onto the floor, the hyperventilation from his panic and the breathlessness from running so far making it difficult to get any air in.

He heard the door open and his panic only spiked higher. He was screwed. This was it for him. Aether would have him now.

It was like he blinked and now he was sitting in his bed, back against the wall, Rain sitting next to him, holding him close. It was disorienting. His head was pounding and all of his muscles were aching with a bone deep exhaustion. There was also some stinging pain. He looked down and saw claw marks on his arms, obviously done by himself.

He barely remembered what happened and he didn’t remember anything at all after he finally made it back to the dorms. He let out a whine as he rested his head on Rain’s shoulder.

Rain didn’t say anything, knowing that right now he only wanted physical comfort. He knew he wouldn’t feel up for talking. They stayed like that for a while before Rain finally broke the silence.

“Let me go get Aurora. She can heal you.” Rain was already getting up.

Dew knew that if he tried to argue, he wasn’t going to win. He only nodded in understanding. Even though he mostly wanted to be alone at the moment, the silence and loneliness in the few minutes Rain was gone were agonizing.

He was a little worried when Rain returned with Aurora. He was sure she was going to judge him. He was surprised to see that there was no judgement. She walked over, not saying a word.

She started to reach out for his arm, looking up at him to be sure it was okay. Dew was a little confused by it but he nodded.

“Phantom has panic attacks too.” She decided to clear up his confusion. She started to heal up the claw marks. They thankfully weren’t too deep so she was able to heal them quickly. She was gentle the whole time.

“Thank you…” he did feel better now that he was in less pain.

“You don’t need to thank me.” She smiled at him before getting up and leaving the room.

Rain had gone into the bathroom to get a washcloth. He sat down next to him and started to wash the blood off of his arms. They sat in silence for a while.

“The rest of the pack is going to watch a movie if you’re feeling up to it.” Rain looked up at Dew. Dew had to think about it for a moment. He did feel like shit at the moment and probably looked like shit too. He had a shit day and he wanted to be surrounded by the comfort of his pack for a bit.

“We can go… but I went to get cleaned up first.” He went to get up but Rain stopped him.

“Let me do it.” Rain got up and dissapeared into the bathroom again. He came back with a brush and a washcloth. He sat them on the bed before going and getting some clean clothes as well.

Dew got up and changed his own clothes but he’d let Rain pamper him. He sat back down on the edge of the bed and let him brush his hair.

He would be lying if he said it wasn’t calming. He started to purr quietly. He even kneaded his claws into the bed a little.

“You know, you’re really adorable.” Rain stopped brushing Dew’s hair and grabbed the washcloth to clean up his face a bit.

“You’re adorable too.” He was blushing a little from the compliment but he was going to compliment him back of course.

“Come on, let’s go.” Rain got up, grabbing Dew’s hand and leading him out to the living room.

The rest of the pack was already there and the movie had already started so they quietly snuck in and took the empty space on the couch.

Dew leaned into Rain, resting his head on his shoulder. He did try to focus on the movie but he was just so tired and the couch was so comfortable that he ended up falling asleep right there. He even began to purr again.

Phantom had been looking over at Dew since he came into the room. When he started purring, they couldn’t help but think about how cute he was. Someone else noticed what they were doing though.

“You have a crush” Aurora whispered over to them.

“I do not,” Phantom quickly looked back at the TV.

“I think the three of you would be great together.” She also turned her attention back to the movie.

Phantom thought about it. They did like Dew a lot and they liked Rain as well. They didn’t think either of them would want them though. At least not like that. Maybe they should shoot their shot. It wouldn’t hurt.

(and a little bonus of all the tiny 1inx1in albums because I am quite tickled by them)