#starlightwalking

He was spending the night at Merle’s house. Despite Merle’s grumbles, it hadn’t escaped Angus that there was a spare room built into the beach house that seemed to be specially reserved for him. It was summer break, and Mavis and Mookie were with their mom, and he knew Merle got lonely - though he’d never admit it - so Angus was spending the weekend at the beach.

Right now, it was a little bit past one in the morning, and he really should be sleeping, but he had this paper to edit on the history of divination, and he had a feeling in his gut that when he did eventually fall asleep, it wasn’t going to be restful.

He flipped the page and bit back a yawn as he ran his eyes over the next sentence, struggling to keep his eyes open. Maybe if he closed them for just a moment-

And suddenly, he was back on Rockport Limited, on a trip that felt like it was so long ago. Except something wasn’t right. There weren’t three adventurers at his shoulder, throwing quips back and forth, teasing him in a way he grew to understand was their form of affection. There wasn’t anyone. Not even Jess or Graham. He was alone on the train. Panic seized his chest, and he sprinted through the cars. Where were they? They had to be around here somewhere, they had to-

He froze. He was back where they’d once found Hudson’s body, except-

Except the murdered engineer wasn’t lying there. Three beheaded corpses laid on the ground, surrounded by blood. A dwarf, an elf, a human.

It was getting harder to draw breath. Angus whirled around and without making the conscious decision to do so, he went to the windows. Outside, he didn’t see the tunnel shooting by. No, he saw a sky made up of multicolored darkness. His gut dropped horribly when he realized the train-

The train was on a collision course directly into the Hunger.

Angus was going to pass out. He had to get out of the train, right now. He ran to the next car, and the next, and the next, and the next, and he really should have reached the end by now, but the train just kept going and going and going, and when he looked out the window, he saw the decimated remains of Faerun, and gods, he was almost at the Hunger, he was going to die-

“Angus!”

Angus jolted awake just as a scream escaped his lips. He wasn’t on the train anymore, but he was too disoriented to really get a bearing of where he was. His chest heaved as he struggled to draw breath, and he realized with a start that hot tears were streaming out of his eyes.

“Angus, kiddo, it’s alright.” The same gruff voice that had woken him shushed him quietly, and he felt the bed dip beside him as someone climbed onto it. A pair of rough hands took his cheeks and forced him to focus in on the dwarf in front of him. Merle. It was Merle. He was in Merle’s house. Merle who still had his head and was very much alive. “I’ve got you. Breathe, okay? I’ve got you.”

Angus relaxed marginally at that realization, but was seized by shame. “I’m sorry I woke you, sir. I-” His voice shook as he tried to stop his heart from pounding. “You can go back to bed, I’ll be fine.”

Merle was still looking at him intently, and he sighed. “Come on, kid. We’re going for a walk.” He hopped off the bed and went to the door, giving Angus an expectant look when he didn’t immediately jump to his feet. Still shaking, Angus slid off the bed and followed him out of his room, and then out of the house.

Merle had built his house right on the beach, and the gentle crashes of the waves could be heard from inside. It had been a warm day, but the nighttime air was refreshingly crisp on Angus’s still tear streaked face.The moon was wide and full and it reflected a rippling white disk on the ocean. The sand was soft under their feet and once they were about halfway down the beach, Merle sat down and patted the spot next to him for Angus.

They sat there in silence, watching the ocean, and Angus could feel some of the tension draining from him.

“You wanna talk about what was scarin’ you?” Merle asked after a while. Angus tilted his head down and looked at the sand, his throat closing up again at the thought.

“Not really, sir…” Merle grunted in affirmation and lapsed into silence again.

“Did you know Taako used to have night terrors?” He said after a few minutes of quiet, and Angus looked at him in surprise. “Oh yeah. Real bad ones. When we were on the Starblaster, and when we were on the Moonbase. I’d hedge my bets he still has ‘em.” He turned a bit to look at Angus, and the boy couldn’t help but marvel for a moment at the difference between the Merle before him and the one that had taunted him on the Limited oh so long ago. “It’s not something to be ashamed of, kid.”

Angus didn’t have a response for that. He just looked back down at the sand and drew designs with his finger. Merle didn’t press him for comments and turned back to the ocean.

“You know, fresh air and the ocean does wonders. It’s not gonna cure any traumas, but I know I always feel better sittin’ on the beach.”

Angus had to admit he was right. He didn’t feel perfect, but with each gentle ocean breeze, he felt a bit more relaxed. The sand between his toes and the water lapping at the shore was grounding, and before too long, he was drifting off.