#nothing drastic

A/N: Not sure what this is but I wrote it last night 😅

Warnings: Nightmare mention. Panic.

Word Count: 459 (quite possibly the shortest thing I’ve ever written.)

Your feet curled over the rocky edge as you peered down into the black void below. A cold wind snatched and dragged at your clothes, whipping your hair across your face. Each gust, a slap or pinch against your exposed skin, bringing your pain to the surface with the abusive caress of bony fingers. Looking over your shoulder, you saw the wasteland, as grey and desolate as the life you had already existed through. But nothing could overshadow the deep darkness that reached up towards you. An oubliette of uncertainty loomed below you. A yawning fissure that hissed your name, shadows curled along the walls; whispers you couldn't decipher screaming in the wind. There was no way round, no safe path to navigate, forcing you down into the swirling, unfathomable depths of the unknown. You didn't want to go, almost leaning into the wind and hoping it would blow you away from the edge. Instead, it changed course, pushing you from behind, urging you to take the leap. You didn't want to, closing your eyes and crying out in desperation in the hope that life wouldn't make you. But it was fruitless. It was inevitable. This was the only way.

And so you fell. Your hands grabbed for the light, hating the way it filtered easily through your fingers. Your fist closed on nothing, the white light receding, fading as the shadows claimed you. Swarming like a cloud, impenetrable and suffocating.

A silent scream ripped from your throat, laced with terror that only you could feel. Falling and falling as though there was no end. Nothing to break your fall, trapped in an eternity of profound silence and unseeing eyes.

Your entire body jolted awake, your eyes snapping open only to see more darkness, and for a second you thought you were still falling. You scrabbled wildly, trying to find something tangible to hold onto. Panic seized your brain, the long hooks buried deep, clawing their way to your insides and making them like ice.

Until he reached for you.

His warmth enveloped you, thawing you, melting the panic away as he pulled you to his chest. Your heart fluttered like a frightened bird, your breath shallow through the tight grip of horror. His fingers stroked your hair, his voice soothing, the vibrations filtering from his chest; you clutched him like he was your lifeline. Inhaling sharply, you told yourself to calm down. It was a dream. You weren't falling. You weren't stepping off a ledge; there was no deep hole about to swallow you.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked quietly.

"Not much to say," you managed to rasp out. "It was dark. I was falling."