☽NIGHTMARE'S POV☽
She's lying.
She knows that I can sense negative emotions and yet she still continues to lie to me. Whatever she's not telling me, it's causing her extreme pain and anguish...
But what's more concerning, is the bubbling RAGE that's hidden underneath the other emotions. It's like she's trying to keep it locked up and buried. I can't help but feel a bit pissed off that she's doing this to herself as I gritted my teeth and shouted, "WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING?!" She flinched from my sudden outburst but I continued, "Why won't you tell me what's causing you so much pain and suffering, Raven?! You know you can tell me, right?" Grabbing her by her shoulders, I leaned forward as I pressed our foreheads together while closing my eye sockets when I felt tears streaming down my face.
"Does... does it have to do with that nightmare you had? What's gotten you scared of losing me?"
The sounds of sobs and sniffles caused my eyes to snap open as the sight before me made my SOUL to throb painfully within my chest. Raven, the starlight to my night sky, trembling and wide eyed as tears streamed down her rosy cheeks as she looked at me with a look that screamed broken. Out of instinct, I quickly embraced her in a protective hold as I rocked her back and forth; saying soothing words to her.
"Shhh... shhh... I'm here, Starlight... I'm here..."
"I-I know that Papa talked to his father; b-but I can't help to w-worry! W-what if he decides to h-hurt you again?! I don't think I c-can handle that..."
Ah... she's talking about Terrence.
It's true that he's been quiet for a couple of years besides him throwing me a cocky smirk every time I see him with Dream.
I hope he's not up to anything...
I looked down at her as I gently brush her bangs out of her face, showing her sparkling minty blue eyes, while whispering "He hasn't been bothering us since your father got involved. Besides, like I told you before, I'm a Guardian to the Tree of Feelings! It'll take a lot to bring me down!" I felt her tense as a wave of doubt and guilt rushed out of her, "But you did get taken down! I-I saw you turn to dust before my eyes! I don't care if it wasn't real or not! That.. feeling of helplessness and weakness... it was horrible!"
Finally, she's talking about that dream! Maybe getting her to talk about it will relieve some of her stress?
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Raven leaned her head against my chest as she let out a tired sigh, "The whole town was beating you to death and when I finally made it to you... I was pinned down while Terrence taunted me!" She spat the rabbits monster's name with pure venom. I looked at her curiously, "What did he say to you?"
The young mage nervously looked at me with wide eyes while biting her bottom lip; it looked like she was internally debating something with herself.
"I don't remember."
Bullshit.
But I kept my mouth shut; not wanting to force her to tell me something she didn't want to. I nodded my head to signal her to continue.
"T-then you spoke up... I t-tried to k-keep you awake! I r-really did...! B-but.. y-you... I c-couldn't s-save you! I-"
Tears started to appear as I quickly wiped them away while reassuring , "Well, I'm here now! I'm not leaving you... not ever! We made a promise to always be together, remember?" Raven let out a breathy chuckle, "Y-yeah! I remember!"
There was a moment of peaceful silence when it was cut off when she asked, "Can I see your tongue now?"
~TIME SKIP~
❤︎RAVEN'S POV❤︎
"FREAK!"
THUD
CRACK!
There goes another rib...
I let out a pained groan as I slowly got back on my feet; clutching my injured side. I glared at my attackers defiantly as I weakly chuckled, "I-Is that...all you g-got?"
Terrence gave me a sadistic smirk as he looked at his two goons, "Would ya look at that, guys? It seems bright eyes has some fight in her today!" He faced me again as he cracked his knuckles; bringing his fist in a fighting stance "Good! Cause I'm going to need to vent out my anger before I leave for the summer!"
What? He's leaving? Is this some kind of sick joke?
The vermin seemed to have noticed the look on my face as he took a step closer to me, "Yeah, outcast! I'm leaving to be apprenticed by my father over the summer since I'll be taking over his logging business when I'm old enough! So enjoy your peace while it lasts because when I get back, I'll be even more rough with you than I am now! You know what? I'll give you a sneak peak!"
He brought his left paw to his side as an orange knife magically materialized into it; making my minty blue eyes widen in fear. Isn't this going a bit too far? I looked around the alley that I always meet my tormentors in; trying to find a way out. But stopped when a terrifying thought crossed my mind.
If I run from them, then the deal would become void. Then they would go after Nightmare again!
Sighing in defeat, I gave the rabbit monster a cocky smirk "Give it your best shot! Since some bunny is going to have a great time when you leave!" He stared dumbly at me for a few minutes before growling out, "You think you're funny, do you? Let's see how you like this!"
Raising his hand, Terrence skillfully threw the magical knife in my direction as I dodged to the side where it missed me by a hair length away. Until a sharp pain to my shoulder made me gasp in surprise as I looked to spot another knife lodged in it before disappearing.
"Ha! You think you were going to dodge my ATTACK, huh? But, I do enjoying your fighting spirit! Makes things more fun! Might as well practice that dodging for when I come back; you're going to need it!"
With that said, Terrence left with his mindless lackeys trailing behind him in a fit of laughter while I growled underneath my breath; all while trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to appear. Leaning against the alley wall, I carefully slid down it so I can access my injuries to see what I can heal with magic or not. First, checking my ribs. As gently as I could, I lifted my shirt and prodded my side until a searing pain almost left me screaming in agony.
Yup... definitely broken.
I know Mama said to let these injuries to heal on their own but I can't afford that. Clenching my jaw, I focused my healing magic to my hand until the familiar green glow surrounded it; then placed my palm to my broken rib. I gritted my teeth as another wave of pain appeared until it slowly went away. Sighing in relief, I focused on my shoulder and healed that as well; then did the same with all the other injuries I have received from my beatings.
Tired and out of breath from overusing my magic, I shakily stood back up and started hobbling towards my home to try to catch some much needed rest; if I can...
"𝗛𝗲𝘆, 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻!"
Groaning in frustration, I turned to face the Guardian of Positivity with a forced smile, "Heya, Dream! Fancy seeing you here?"
To say I was happy to see the skeleton would be a lie. It seems the more I endure Terrence's constant abuse, the more bitterness and anger I feel towards my best friend's brother. I know it's not entirely his fault, but if he was more aware and not oblivious, I would have felt differently. It doesn't help that he's friends with Nightmare and I's tormentors.
Dream smilies brightly at me as he nervously rubbed his neck, "𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂! 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻?"
I tense at the thought of facing that damn rabbit monster again after I just got done from his daily abuse. Yeah, no thanks.
"I'm sorry, Dream but I must decline your offer. I was only out here to take a small walk because I was having trouble sleeping. Now, I'm heading back home to try to get some shut eye!"
I'm not completely lying; I didn't get much sleep last night due to my insomnia.
A look of disappointment appeared on his face before Dream replaced it with his usual bubbly smile, "𝗢𝗵, 𝗼𝗸! 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲?"
I shook my head, "I'm fine walking back on my own. My home is in the outskirts of town and you're going the opposite direction."
"𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁... 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀?"
I glanced at him cautiously, "Yeah...? With Mama and Papa in our cottage."
He looked at me with worry, "𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂? 𝗜 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲..."
I stared at him in confusion before it was replaced with a scowl; those damn townsfolk must be spreading rumors again about my family to Dream! I took a deep breath to calm my anger before replying, "I'll be alright, Dream. My family and I have lived in those woods for years, so I now the safest routes to go if anything happens."
The skeleton gave me a doubtful look before nodding reluctantly, "𝗢𝗸, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗱𝗼... 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻!" With that said, he finally left; leaving me to my troubled thoughts.
~TIME SKIP~
I stared at the rabbit as it continued to struggle in the snare. After walking through the woods, I decided to check the traps before I got home since there was no point in going back to sleep. Over the past few weeks of checking the traps on my own, I've gotten used to killing the small prey animals that have, unfortunately, gotten caught in them.
The first time I killed, I puked.
But, Papa said that was normal for people who never taken a life before. So after a few fowls, rodents, and the occasional weasel; I finally got used to it.
This would be my first rabbit.
Usually, I would quickly end its suffering but... this rabbit... oddly resembles Terrence. It has the same white fur and red eyes. I know that it's wrong for me to compare an innocent creature to my tormentor; that I shouldn't watch in sadistic pleasure as the poor thing continues to cry out in help as it's foot is slowly being cut off by the wire. Just watching the... vermin reminds me of all the beatings that I have endured. The constant pain and suffering Nightmare had to endure before my deal with them.
My eyes started to burn as my throat felt like it was closing up; while ragged breaths caused my shoulders to shake. An odd burning sensation coursed through my chest, making me grit my teeth as I felt an overwhelming sense of RAGE. Until I couldn't hold it in anymore; I let out a battle cry as I swiftly took out my hunting knife and repeatedly stabbed the defenseless rabbit. It's cries and screams of pain brought a wave of satisfaction within my body; til it finally went limp on the grassy ground.
I dropped my knife as I looked at my blood covered hands in disgust; then looked at the mangled corpse of the rabbit. It's head was barely attached to its body while its organs were leaking from its torn belly.
Did... did I do that?
A sob escaped my lips as tears ran down my cheeks as I grabbed a fistful of black hair with bloody hands. Why did I do that...?
Maybe because it felt good?
My body fell slack at that disturbing thought; surprised that I could even think that! But...
It did feel good.
Soon my sobs turned into giggles until I was full blown laughing. It really did feel wonderful to finally be the one causing pain instead of the other way around and I feel all my pent up frustration lent up a bit.
Maybe I should do this more often?
* I told you she was going to get a bit dark.
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ