Ice and Sword

         “Eh, these are really quiet enjoyable actually. Especially in this shade.”

              “---What do ya think you’re doin’?”

      Judar floated up by the branch Eliza rested on and put his hands on his hips. He stared at her with a mix of anger and disappointment. Yeah, sure, he knew it was pretty hot out, and the peaches from that tree tasted fantastic, but that didn’t give his guest the right to steal his stuff! That’s right; those peaches were his.

“Whoa, are you okay?”

“You took that hit pretty hard…”

“Don’t stand up yet.”

“That definitely looks broken…”

“Walk it off.”

“How are you feeling?”

“When was the last time you slept?”

“You look like shit.”

“Have you been eating enough?”

“Here, let me help you.”

“Why are you limping?”

“You’re really pale…”

“Did you just go throw up?”

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“______? You’re bleeding…really bad.”

“That looks infected.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“I told you you’d get sick.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Wake up–you were hyperventilating, are you okay?”

“It was just a dream, you’re alright.”

“Look at me–you’re safe.”

“Take a deep breath.”

“Are you bleeding?!”

“How’d you get a bruise like that?”

“What happened?”

“Let me help you!”

“Can you hear me?”

“You hit your head pretty hard.”

“Don’t move.”

“I know it hurts, I’m sorry.”

“For one, you’re the only person I’m exactly close with here. Your presence is comforting.” She hesitates for a second.

“…A lot of my nightmares end with me dying or bleeding out. Sometimes, people important to me die right before my eyes, and I can’t do anything to help them. Every so often, I’m the one hurting them, but I’m aware that someone else is making me do it. Like I’m being controlled.” She doesn’t shift, simply staring off into space as she lays in Judar’s lap.

    “...Ah.”

    Judar listens, focusing all of his attention on Spierce. As he does so, he runs his fingers through Spierce’s hair. When she finishes describing her nightmares, the oracle decides to speak.

    “I’ll slaughter anyone who tries to pull that on you. Y’know that, right?” He knows saying this won’t stop the nightmares. Hell, he has reoccurring nightmares, too. What happens in them is a little different, but he knows that it’s at least comforting to have someone reassure you that they’ll protect you. 

    ---Or rather, he knows he sought out someone to do just that after his first few nightmares. He quickly found that not many people were going to comfort him, so he stopped looking. Did the person laying in his lap experience something similar at some point? He needs to know.

Ah. She wasn’t expecting that.

    “Don’t worry about it; it’s gettin’ late, anyway. Tell me about your nightmares,” he responds, his voice quieter than normal. It’s probably because it’s so late; even Judar knows not to raise his voice at night. Granted, he learned the hard way.

    “How about tomorrow morning, then? We can do each other’s hair and even dress up! Does that sound alright with you, Titus?” It was only natural that Kouha would charm the Magi of Reim. After all, the prince was known for being quite the charmer.