there are dreams so quietly heavy to navigate, they start to resemble something else entirely.

the act of noctis awakening had always been met with a range of reactions, but none were ever relief. not quite like this. as though he hadn't been expected to⸺ when the maid left in a hurry for the medic, he slowly, groggily understood why.

he should have felt more startled when he realized there was a numbness that clung to his lower body. instead, he remained in bed disoriented, as though it was a dream within a dream. but that didn't make any sense, either; there wasn't a dream where he would conjure a reality like this. not on his own. he wouldn’t dream people for that matter, much less doctors. the haze in his mind rendered him unable to tell apart wish from dread. or, death.

it's only when his sister stepped in that he knew it was real. the pain and panic settled then. she did her best to reassure he was alive and recovering, to make him listen. she removed the hand that pinched at his thigh to provoke a reaction, and kept it cradled between hers. further explanations were left for later; he had to know he would be fine, and, more importantly, would not be left alone: aylen knew better than most how lonely noctis’ dreams could be.

"  can't you .  .  . can't you sleep here tonight ?  "

A CORNER IS TURNED...     the night - shade of the training camp seems to huddle around his shoulders,     whispering against the back of his neck   [   he’d found a quiet spot between the court and the showers,   a little nestling place behind a winding tree,   where leaves had been shocked into golden autumn rather than crying winter - whites:    it was easier than dealing with the brotherhoods that he didn’t belong to,   the jostling affection of elated aftermaths   ].     there is no light in these secret place,    no streetlight casting a heavenly glow:    there’s just the flicker of yellow coming from an open door some ways away,   faint and ghoulish in this silent paradise.    ALMOST SILENT:    shinso hears a noise.