One-shots [Reqs: 5]

Short/s From Tumblr - 3

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Cross's gills flared, panic prickling over his skin. Sand swirled and clouded in the dark water, fogging Cross's view of his fallen companion. "Dream!"

The mer curled in on himself, shaking, the shine of his normally brilliant tail alarmingly dull, and growing dimmer by the second. Cross swam in fretful circles, his long tail fin whipping with each of his twitchy strokes. He didn't know what to do, or what was wrong, and no one was around. The rest of the shiver was at home, waiting in the trench for Cross and Dream to return with food.

Dream's body was cold when Cross tried to pick him up. Dream was never cold.

"Oh gods, what do I do-" Nightmare, he needed to find Nightmare, but he couldn't leave Dream here, oh fuck-

The water roiled, cold drafts pressing against his body like a caress, bringing his spiraling panic to a halt as Nightmare's enormous tentacles suddenly encircled the pair. His voice shook the ground, even as low as it was. "Cross." Dream's shivering body was plucked from the shifting sand, the goldfish murmuring something that was lost in the jumble of Cross's thoughts.

Nightmare called for him again, snapping him out of his stillness. The thresher snapped his tail, launching himself up to hurry after Nightmare, his soul pounding. "Night- He just, Dream fell and I don't know why, I didn't want to leave him, but I-" Cross chirped, squeaking as Nightmare's finger pet down the length of his body, from the crown of his skull to the tip of his longer tail-fin. "Calm down, Cross. Breathe."

Cross shuddered, his tail stalling briefly before he picked up his pace again, making small circles in the water. Nightmare's hand cupped around him, holding him still, and Cross yelped. "I said calm, Cross. Dream will be okay." Water rushed around them, pushing and pulling in intervals. It hit Cross a moment later that Nightmare was swimming. "I hadn't thought Dream would be as idiotic as to put off his monthly sunbathing, but it appears I was wrong."

Cross sputtered, "S-sunbathing??" Nightmare huffed an amused sound, moving his hand away to allow Cross the ability to see their surroundings again. "Yes. Dream is not self-sustaining. His scales don't glow of their accord, but rather reflect the sunlight absorbed." At the next pause in movement, Cross darted up to cling to Nightmare's collarbone. "It is vital that he keep himself warm, it keeps him alive. As for how it does so, I'm not sure."

The water was warming, growing brighter the further they went. It became clear that they were headed towards the surface. Cross blinked at the light, his head tilting. "So. How long has it been since he. Last went?"

"I am ashamed to say that I'm not sure. The last time I recall him going was months ago." Cross balked at that. Months??? But that's- He frowned deeply, guilt coiling in his gut. "It's been seven months." When Cross first arrived. Nightmare hummed, "Yes, that would be about right."

They passed over some sort of threshold, and sunlight lit up the water around them. It took a few more rounds of Nightmare's strange pushing of water from his body for them to reach the surface. Nightmare shifted around, easing Dream into his palm properly and holding the sleeping mer just beneath the surface of the water. Cross swam over quickly, settling beside Dream, watching over him, holding his breath for the moment his shivermate woke up.