Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 12: For the Dancing and the Dreaming [Part 2]

Myrkr courted me for a long while, then, strangely, he just... stopped. Three solid weeks after he started to walk again, time spent with no progress courting me, he stopped? I didn't feel any different about him, not even slightly, so it couldn't be over yet, right?

One night, Myrkr started to act even stranger than normal. He could walk short distances on his own now, so he headed straight to Dad. I was close enough to hear them, so I strained my ears to listen.

Myrkr told Dad that he had made his final decision about whether or not he wanted to 'do this for real.' I didn't hear what he said after that, but Dad nodded and told Myrkr something I also couldn't hear. Before Myrkr turned to leave, he loudly told Myrkr to 'give it his best' and looked at me with a smirk.

I knew exactly what that meant, and that lifted my anxiety to a new extreme. The only reason Dad would say that is if he believed someone 'worthy of me.' Myrkr wasn't in love with me, he was still only attracted to me, but he clearly wanted to be in love with me.

This... This was actually happening... wasn't it?

Suddenly, just last night, Myrkr resumed courting me—truly courting me. He wasn't only trying to earn my affection anymore, he was probably trying to secure a life with me. When Splinter caught wind of that, she was beyond elated. Still, she managed to keep herself at a distance, watching Myrkr proudly as he tried his best.

Though he was working hard to fall in love with me—and in turn, make me fall for him—, he wasn't smothering me, which I was grateful for. I was already a nervous wreck, and he knew that, so he was doing his best without doing too much. I knew that must be hard to balance, but he was doing surprisingly well.

Tonight, after only one night of Myrkr's new courting, I drifted out of dreamland, feeling emotionally and mentally drained. I didn't think poorly of Myrkr for it, but I was already dreading the moment I opened my eyes. I now understood why the female wasn't supposed to do anything during the courting stage; being courted was exhausting. If I was supposed to do something, I doubted I'd be able to do it. I just wanted to sleep the night away. Scratch that, I wanted to sleep the moon-cycle away.

Unfortunately, a certain someone was nosing my head. "Wake up, beautiful," Myrkr whispered. "The sun is down." Already?!

"Please," I begged with an exhausted whisper. "Give me a break... I-I'm so tired... Please..."

"Oh." I heard him lie down in front of me. "Why didn't you say so?" He crooned. "I'll give you a break."

I opened my heavy eyelids, met with his face surprisingly farther than I expected. "R-Really...?"

His eyes widened, flicking back and forth between my eyes. "Woah, you look tired," he remarked worriedly. "Really tired..." He paused, looking guilty. "I didn't think I was making you so tired. I'll slow down so you're not worn out." That sounded like a bad idea, and my exhausted brain took forever to process why.

"No," I said as firmly as I could, remembering why that was a horrible idea. "You have to exhaust me, Splinter said so. S-She said if I don't get tired, you're not a good fit." I wanted to believe Dad when he said I would find happiness. Tonight, right now, I was looking at someone that might bring me happiness, someone that wanted the same thing. I was hesitant to believe that Myrkr was 'the one,' but if I had to be tired to find out, then I would deal with it. 

He blinked and cracked a smile. "So, we're a good fit," he whispered happily, then hesitated, his smile dropping. "Okay, I'll keep it up, but..." He trailed off, humming thoughtfully to himself, then smiled again. "I have an idea for us."