#shelbyco

Shelby was running. She couldn't tell what she was running from, only that it was dangerous and she was in danger and everything was bad. Why was it bad? She was a goddess, she should be fine! She could fly- 

Why couldn't she get off the ground?

She jumped. She was hovering in place, only a couple inches above the ground, unable to go higher. 

Everything was wrong. Whatever was after her was catching up. It was coming closer. 

She tried to keep moving but found she was stuck in place. 

Thunder rumbled and a bolt of lightning struck her, the electricity flowing through her body. Something from behind loomed over her and-

She woke up.

There were tears welling in the corners of their eyes, and their jaw was clenched. The little wings on the corners of their head were quivering, and the feathers were sticking in all directions. Whatever had been chasing her in her dream had been big, and it had gotten her, and she'd never even seen what it was. The lightning had been... agh! She didn't even understand where it had come from.

It didn't make sense!

None of their dreams had ever been so awful. For as long as they could remember, they'd only ever had pleasant dreams of grand buildings and worship and the common people fighting for their entertainment. As a goddess, Shelby had only ever deserved and received the best of the best from what the mortal commoners could give. 

And yet, in this new world where there was no hierarchy and nothing made sense and everyone was her equal, she was plagued with this... nightmare. She decided right there and then that it was one of the worst things she'd ever experienced. 

And that meant that they needed to go and do something about it. 

That redhead from the Acacia kingdom had mentioned that they were... the god of nightmares? The deity of nightmares? The one that had called her "my goddess..." the one with the pretty purple cloak woven from stardust, and the fox mask with the huge adorable ears... They could help, maybe. 

If everyone here was her equal, then surely this "god of nightmares" would have some magical remedy to cure her. It was the only thing that could make sense. And the thought of seeing him again did make Shelby feel nice. 

It was a bit of a walk to the Acacia kingdom. The world at night wasn't a bad view, but Shelby had seen far better in her time. And it was much better seen from above, where the clouds were. Where she was used to being. 

As they walked along the bridge, the cold of the Spruce kingdom made her shiver, and the typically scorching heat of the Acacia kingdom was absent at this late hour. It was still noticeably warmer, though. 

They hurried to the desert house, and knocked on the door, hoping someone would answer. 

After a moment, the world silent except for the sounds of insects chirping in the grass, muffled footsteps grew closer, and the Deity of Nightmares herself opened the door. 

...For a supposed deity, ve was rather disheveled, wearing only a baggy tank top and loose pants. Ver hair was tangled and sticking up in all directions. 

"Wh- Shelby? What are you doing here this late?"

"Hi, Ruby. I need your help with something," Shelby spoke. She started to take a step inside, but paused. "May I enter your home?" 

If they wanted Ruby's help, they should probably be nice and ask before letting themself into xyr house. Even if acting as though she should ever have to ask for something as simple as entering a home made her skin crawl. A god of nightmares should be granted respect- not as much as Shelby herself may deserve, but it may be in her favor to pretend otherwise. 

Ruby, of course, immediately folded. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the door. "Oh, of course! Come inside, where are my manners? Sorry if there's sand on the floor, it just gets everywhere in this kingdom..." He paused to shut the door behind them. "How can I help you? I didn't think you were the type to go around and ask for help like this, is something wrong?"

Damn, they were good. Shelby inhaled, avoiding eye contact. "I need you to do something about a nightmare I had. I'm not used to them, I've never had them before coming here, and you said something about being able to control nightmares, so I'm here. Can you get rid of it so I can sleep?"

Shelby did not expect Ruby to grimace and suck in a breath through their teeth. "I... I think you misremembered. I'm the Deity of Nightmares, nightmares personified, but I'm not in control of anything. I don't have any dream-related powers... It sounds like this really got to you, whatever it was. I'm very sorry you're having bad dreams." 

Heart sinking, Shelby sighed, resigning herself to her fate. She turned back towards the door, preparing herself for a long night. "No, I'll figure it out. If you can't magic it away, I'll deal with it myself. Unless you have a non-magical way to stop it from happening, that also won't take too long." 

"Oh! I, um- I might be able to do something? If you're okay with staying a little while longer. I've helped friends with this sort of thing in the past. Never underestimate the power of friendship!" Xe winked. Shelby thought it was cute, and then caught herself. 

Why did she think Ruby was cute?? 

They shook their head. "It's- you know what, fine. Even if it doesn't work, I'll at least have tried it now rather than in the future. What do you do normally?" They knew they sounded frustrated, but they couldn't find it in themself to care all that much. 

The ever-gracious Ruby smiled. "Firstly, you look very stressed. If it's alright, we can head back to my room and I can brush your hair- it's nice and soothing." They held out their hand. 

Shelby followed Ruby to her room, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Ruby sat behind her. 

"May I touch your hair, my goddess?" 

The soft words xie whispered were pleasant and comfortable to hear. "Yes, you may." Ruby's gentle fingers stroked her hair, feeling its divine aura that every part of Shelby's body emitted. Shelby realized that no one had ever done this with her, in all her years. The only time others had ever gotten this close was to give her offerings, and even then, there had never been this sense of vulnerability involved. 

When they felt Ruby's fingers trace the base of the little wings on their head, they shivered, and the wings fluttered. Ke hadn't actually touched her wings- ke was in fact being very careful not to- but the roots were still incredibly sensitive. 

And it felt absolutely heavenly.

"Are you okay? You froze up. Did I pull your hair?" 

Shelby snapped out of her trance. "Oh- Oh, no, you're perfect. I just realized... well, I don't think I've ever had anyone take care of me like this. It's new, and weird. But also nice?"

"Well, I'm glad I'm here to take care of you now. You deserve only the best, of course." Shelby heard him giggle. "My goddess, I'm honored to be allowed this moment with you." 

"You're very cute when you laugh," admitted Shelby. Ruby had a real brush, now, and the soft but firm bristles were somehow even more relaxing than ver fingertips had been.

There was a weird feeling in her face and chest. The sound of Ruby's laughing was making her strangely happy. A lot of things she did made her strangely happy! It was another thing that was new and weird and nice and confusing. Plenty of mortals had groveled at her feet in the past, but she was supposed to only be mildly entertained at best. 

And yet, this unfairly cute person whose house really was completely covered in sand was affecting her like this. 

She didn't know how much time passed. Everything was calm, and Shelby was feeling much better, and she didn't want to leave. Ruby's very presence was calming. 

Another funny thing, considering the nightmares incarnate deal...? Nothing in this world made sense.

Suddenly, the hands in her hair left, and the gentle brushstrokes stopped. 

Shelby readied herself to have to leave, but Ruby was bold, and wrapped its arms around her middle and rested its head against her shoulder. "My goddess, please don't go. I- I want you to stay the night. It does get lonely out here sometimes, and I can only imagine that you get lonely too..." It trailed off. 

"I..." They weren't sure how to respond to that. They didn't want to go either. 

It would be the first time they'd ever spent the night in a mortal's house, let alone a mortal's bed, but it was a night full of firsts. A whole world full of firsts.

What was one more? 

This house was nice, but this person was a ray of sunshine and love and whatever it was that made Shelby feel like she had another pair of wings in her stomach. 

"I want to stay, Ruby." She let herself relax back against Ruby's warm body. She let Ruby carefully lay her down and pull up the blanket over them both. She did turn around, though, so they were facing each other. 

Ruby was grinning, and in one swift move, leaned over and pressed a kiss to Shelby's forehead, wrecking the last shreds of composure she had in her. She buried her face in her hands and tucked her head under Ruby's chin. 

"I don't know how you manage to make me feel like this. Are you sure you don't have some kind of magic?" She asked incredulously. 

"Oh, I never said I didn't have any magic, just that it wasn't dream-related. That's a story for another night, though- rest, for now."

Shelby could hear Ruby's steady heartbeat faintly, and feel xyr fingers tracing little patterns onto the back of their dress. She was beginning to feel drowsy...

"Good night, Ruby. Thank you."

"Anything for you, my goddess." 

She closed her eyes. Somehow, she knew that her nightmares would not return.