[IC] When Realms Collide {AkiBlue & PopeAlessandros}

[AkiBlue]

Enasi nodded as they all seemed to gasp at the news. "I know, it's dangerous. But I'm not going to risk your lives to come with me. Just as I'd be weakened in the realm, you all would be much worse." He explained matter-of-factly. "There's not much choice. But I'm sure once Seishu is there, he'll manage to heal up a lot more. And that's what we're trying to help with right?" The trio nodded, each giving their own solemn agreement. They were happy to know that the nightmare guardian would be able to get a taste of home again, but having their guardian in such danger didn't sit so well." Crios stayed to understand Enasi's feeling of worry when he panicked about his minions.

When Finn started rambling off, Enasi was going to stop him- but Seishu growled at him. Enasi's hand gently went down to touch Seishu's cheek as if to calm him. "Finn, I understand you're upset but mind yourself. Is it really irresponsible to try and help Seishu try to get healed? " He warned and Finn looked down, stepping back to the wall next to Starla. "And I will tell Harper myself. There is no need for him to get more riled up than he will be."

"Riled up about?" Harper walked in with a raised eyebrow. "Also, Cho will be here in a few hours for lunch." He stopped at the door, with a curious look.

Enasi reached over and petted Rasha before looking over at Harper. With a stern face, he spoke. "I'm taking Seishu to the Nightmare Realm in two days. He needs to see his minions and we need to help him heal up." Enasi didn't leave it up for debate unlike most times where he would let Harper complain and argue.

[PopeAlessandros]

Seishu's fangs remain bared even with Enasi's calming hand on his cheek. 'Respectfully questions your orders is one thing, but calling you guardian a fool is unacceptable' His growl doesn't entirely dissipate and Inui Eyes him a little warily. Rasha scoots away a bit, but Rue responds by simply reaching out to touch the angry guardian’s hand gently. As Enasi addresses his minions Seishu looks to the little ones. The worry and upset on their faces bring his growling slowly to a stop, but he can not help his lips twitching back into a fierce look when he glances back at the insubordinate plant sibling. 'Enasi deals with these things his own way. . . .And he's the nice one, so flaying is out of the question. . . He could at lest raise his voice a bit. . .'

Crios watches as the anger boils just beneath the surface, and for a little while he is confused. 'The pain meds are suppose to help his irrational anger. Perhaps the dose it too small. . .' Then he pauses his thinking as he notices Seishu calming down, only riling back up when he looks to Finn. Then with a slow not do himself, he figures it out. 'It's not an irrational anger, not by his standards at least. Having Finn talk back like that. . . .From what I've seen, would be the equivalent of announcing a revolution in the Nightmare Realm' Crios lower his head, shaking it softly, his tail slowly swaying back and forth to match. His head come up however when Harper walks in. He bites his lip, hoping that the rabbit man will not trigger Seishu's anger, pushing it further to the surface.

The horizontal Guardian watches the beast man's face closely as Enasi delivers his order, positive that his counterpart's right hand will raise some sort of objection. 'At least he knows how t pose such things, unlike that little upstart back there'

Harper feels a shock run through his system at Enasi's words. His mouth opens to voice an objection, but his lord's tone sinks in, causing him to close his mouth slowly. So many things that could go wrong with their lord entering the Nightmare Realm at this juncture race through the dream's head and he has to take a few long breaths to keep from talking back to his beloved lord. Once he feels calm enough however he looks into Enasi's eyes and respectfully bows his head ever so slightly. “As my lord wishes.” He bites his lip, trying to fight the urge to keep speaking, but his protective nature wins over and he continues. “If you would permit, I would like to join you. I have been here long enough to be strong enough to withstand the nature of the Nightmare Realm. I know. . . .I know those still loyal to Night will follow his order to keep you safe without fail, but I. . .I would be remiss in my duties if I did not even request to defend you, as I always have.”

Crios can almost feel the waves of defeat already rolling off of Harper. 'He knows there is almost no chance of going with. This must be hell for him. Knowing Enasi intends to head into the proverbial dragon's cave and intends to leave him behind in relative safety' The doctor's stomach clenches, his station in the palace filling him with much the same feeling, and he can see touches of it reflected in the sibling's eyes.

The only ones it the room who do not look pained are the three little ones, who simply look sympathetic towards Harper. The look on Seishu's face however is unreadable. He is no longer baring his teeth, his eyes staring over at the distraught dream with an emotionless expression. 'I should have him come over here when this is all over. He's getting really tasty, and I know I can't exactly interrupt what's happening right this second, but I have the feeling he'll taste even better when this is all over. . .' So while Seishu hides his vaguely watering mouth, the room remains silent, waiting for what comes next.

[AkiBlue]

It didn't take a guardian to see the distraught look in Harper's eyes. The rabbit man was practically on edge from such news. As selfish as it was, Finn was thankful that Seishu's attention turned away from him. He didn't mean to be so rude, but he was just as shocked as Harper was- although from the looks of it, Harper was probably doing a lot worse. Enasi watched and gave a sympathetic look, but he did not plan to cave into his saddened look. "As my second in command Harper, I understand your distress. But as I've told them, I'd rather not risk your lives. Going there is way too dangerous. Besides, I'll need you here to protect the Realm in my absence."

Harper looked at the floor for some time. He understood his guardian's wishes, but he didn't like this idea. Not one bit. But it was already set that he would not go. Enasi made it completely clear. Reluctant as it sounded, Harper bowed once more. ". . . Yes sir. I'll do what I can here." Crios sympathized with the poor guard, but he stayed silent. It wasn't his place to speak. Instead, Crios walks over, quietly examining Seishu once more, almost as if to give himself something to do. Night didn't seem to be pained or in need of any medicine, especially not with his counterpart so close and cozied up.

Rasha's ears flattened and he scooted closer to the guardian's. He gave a soft whine for someone to break the tension in the room. Where was Cho when they needed him? Enasi reached over again to pet Rasha and he purred. Rue looked at them and then at Crios. "So... What will Mister Seishu have to do to prepare?"

Crios' ears twitched a little when Rue spoke and he cleared his throat. "He'll have to save up all his energy and I'll be doing a thorough check the day before. And I still need someone to find Kaila." That's when Rasha perked up, but Crios added. "I'd rather someone who wasn't going to get. . . Distracted by him." The cat frowned a little, but went back to cuddling in between his guardians. The doctor nodded towards the siblings and Starla returned the nod.

"I'll go right away. It shouldn't take me too long to find him. And I'm faster than Finn." Finn rolled his eyes at the comment but stayed quiet. He didn't think he should speak after his little 'accident'. Enasi had stayed quiet, still watching Harper as he stood off to the side silently.

[PopeAlessandros]

The negative energy tumbles through Harper, the hurt of being left behind clashing with his worry for his lord. Seishu licks his lips a little at the delectable suffering, even as he feels slightly bad for the general. He does not delight in the pain being felt by the rabbit man, however negativity from such a near pure source, as he has discovered with feeding off of Enasi, is far too tempting for the Nightmare Guardian not to respond to. He settles in, his chest warming as Harper concedes and an uncomfortable silence permeates the room. If he were any other than what he is, he would feel uncomfortable as well, and perhaps even a bit responsible. However, being who and what he is, he can not help but be content with the feelings now lashing around the room.

Inui too, feels a little different from those around him. This being his first real lasting taste of negative energy, he shivers as it causes his insides to chill a bit. The chill is not unpleasant, but it is to unfamiliar to be as comforting as it should be. Seishu notices him absorbing some of the negativity and ruffles his hair, drawing it away from him. 'He should not take that in yet. If he gets too much, he'll start producing it and accidentally start hurting the dream denizens' Inui lets out a sigh as the pressure lifts off of him and cuddles down a little closer to Seishu. He shifts a little to the side as Crios begins examining Seishu's shoulder, the guardian huffing a little at being moved. Shaking his head the doctor lets him go and decides to examine him the way Kaila had taught him instead and relaxing he concentrates on the task until Rue speaks.

Finn hands his sister the device for finding the Nightmare Minion and she gives him a little hug before racing out the door. The silence falls once more, but this time it's Seishu who breaks it first. Inui moves as the guardian rolls over on to his back. 'Now's a good a time as any' His head still in Enasi's lap he shifts around until he's laying sideways on the bed. Rasha objects slightly, scooting up to press up in between Seishu's shoulder and Enasi's leg with a whine. Inui crawls over into the now mostly empty space and Rue follows suit, the two of them curling together with a giggle. Turning his head a bit so he can see Harper clearly Seishu smiles softly. “Hey, Hops, gimme kiss.” The room freezes, all eyes going wide.

However, Harper hesitates for only a moment, his eyes falling to half closed as he makes his way over to the bed. Standing on the side opposite the little ones and most of Seishu's body, Harper doesn't even spare Enasi a glance as he bends down. Seishu reaches up, placing a hand over Harper's aching heart and as his open mouth comes in close he channels his energy carefully. Their lips don't actually meet as they “kiss”, instead a stream of black smoke trails out from between Harper's white furry lips and slithers down into Seishu's mouth. Finn finds it a little gross, after the initial shock wears off, Inui and Rue hide their faces, blushing lightly, Rasha suppresses a giggle, and Crios watches the whole display with mild fascination.

Seishu enjoys the feeling drinking down the torrent of energy created by his conflicting emotions and when at last he's drawn it all out he relaxes back against Enasi's lap with a contented sigh. Harper pulls back, looking a lot calmer and he even manages to smile at his lord before smacking Seishu on the forehead. While the guardian pouts at being hit Harper chides him. “Thanks, but you could have phrased that better. I thought Finn was going to have a heart attack.”

Seishu sticks out his tongue. “He deserves it.” The little ones pop out from their hiding positions and giggle along with Rasha at Harper's teasing. The mood in the room has lightened considerably. Crios can not help but wonder if Seishu would be willing to take out some of his own pain, but decides to wait a bit to ask.

[AkiBlue]

Enasi sighed gently at Harper's hurt, but he stayed silent. He knew that if he tried comforting him, somehow he would end up probably changing his mind and letting Harper go with him. But, he had to put his foot down at this point. It wasn't safe for any dream and Enasi wasn't going to let his minions become suicidal. Another force caught the guardian's attention. It made him raise an eyebrow as he felt more than one person taking in the negative energy. His eyes traveled down to Inui who seemed to be uncomfortable with the feeling. Enasi watched as Seishu comforted the little minion. It only reminded him that Enasi could do little to help the minion now.

Inui had glanced up to see Enasi glancing down at the bed. He scooted some and gently touched the dream guardian's leg. When he looked up, Inui gave a gentle smile and Enasi returned it with one of his own. It was short lived, considering Starla jumped up and raced out the door. The guardian watched her go, before sitting still and watching as Seishu shifted. At first Enasi thought to move, but Seishu continued to rest his head on his lap. So, he stayed still, only shifting his legs a little.

The next thing said made Enasi give a confused look, while everyone else's eyes widened. But just as always, Seishu knew what he was doing- most of the time, so Enasi decided to wait to see how this would turn out. For some reason, seeing Harper walk towards Seishu without question, made Enasi giggle lightly along with the little ones. Only days before, he knew Harper would have been repulsed by the idea. To see such a change was rather interesting, and he knew something like it would cause a tremendous impact on them when the two finally split and everything fell back to normal. How would those traditional wars go then? How would they act towards each other after?

Enasi looked too far into the future, and pulled himself away before he could think of anything sad. When they 'kissed' Enasi raised an eyebrow only to catch what Seishu was really intending. It only made him giggle a little more. When Seishu relaxed back on him, Enasi went back to calmly running fingers through his hair. He gave Harper a smile and then watched as he hit Seishu. There was no hostility in his actions so Enasi only watched.

"You could have reworded that. You surprised all of us. Even Crios." Enasi teased lightly as the doctor cleared his throat. Towards Seishu's comment, Finn looked off to the side briefly but sighed. 'I deserved it.' He had come to accept the little 'punishment' of being growled at and joined in on the lighthearted air. Harper only smiled and walked back to his place on the wall. Of course he still didn't want his guardian going to the nightmare realm, but he was much farther from exploding in worry than before.

[PopeAlessandros]

Seishu continues to pout as even Enasi picks on his funning. However after a few seconds of pouting he joins in with the smiles finding their way around the room. As they all settle in Crios clears his throat gently. Seishu looks to him, feeling a relatively tamer muddle of negativity in him, and without warning he sits up and pulls Crios into an actual kiss. The doctor is too shocked to react at first but as he feels the hand settle over his chest he glares at the guardian but doesn't pull back. The feeling of having all the negative energy sucked out of him is rather pleasant and Crios concludes that Harper was right not to hesitate.

When Seishu pulls back Crios shoves him hard even as everyone in the room tries hard to to start laughing out right at the deep flush coloring the fox man's cheeks. Seishu lands back into his position on Enasi's lap and giggles, feeling a little giddy now. Without preamble he begins singing the lullaby with gusto. Despite his enthusiasm his tone is still melodious and after a little coaxing he gets Enasi to sing along with him. Crios settle back against the wall, carefully avoiding looking at Harper whom he knows is bursting to say something. However as the guardians begin singing they both settle in to listen. Feeling much better now Finn to relaxes to listen. After they hear it through once however the little ones begin trying to sing along, and by the third time through, they know the words by heart. Once the singing comes to an end Rue asks about the Night Mothers, and Seishu begins filling them in on the history of what was before he and Enasi's reins.

_*_*_*_*_*_

“Okay, so this is suppose to help me find him, but wha?” Starla stares at the little round device, cursing herself for not paying attention when the nightmare minion had told them how it worked. Standing alone on the streets of a large city in the middle of the night she tinkers with it for well over two hours before at last it begins doing something. As a small light on it begins flashing she lets out and exasperated sigh. “Finally! Now, what am I su-” There is a light crackling noise and a bolt flies off the device, almost making her drop it as she yelps and jumps.

A few seconds later another bolt flies out in the same direction, but this time she's ready. In a flash she chases after it. About the time she loses sight of it, another one fires off. In less than an hour she skids to a halt as the little device stops firing. She can feel the presence of a nightmare minion nearby, but she tries to relax. Despite her conscious effort not to attack around her feet plants begin to slither up and around her, creating a base of foliage to work with should she be attacked. Along the backs of her hands she feels her plant blades aching to slither out into their battle form. After several silent seconds, the presence drawing closer to the little park area she's standing in, a familiar figure appears. She relaxes even further as he holds his arms up in the sign for peace.

As his hands drop back to his sides she looks around, trying to see if there are others. “I came alone, as I know you did.” His rather emotionless voice grates on Starla's ears a little, but she ignores it for now. Kaila looks at her patiently, waiting.

'He's like a little robot. I don't care what the other say, this nightmare minion is an automaton' Clearing her throat she shifts a little on the spot. “Night, I mean Seishu, has convinced Lord Enasi to let him return for a visit to the Nightmare Realm.” She glances down at the ground for an instant before looking back up into Kaila's eyes. She can not see it, but the minion's heart leaps at the news. “So, yeah, it's gonna happen two days from now, so Lord Enasi wants up to prepare and stuff. Ni-Seishu is shoring up energy, and will probably come to earth a few times for more boosters, or feedings, or whatever you call them.” The first flicker of emotion crosses Kaila's face in the form of an eyebrow twitch. However he does not comment on her ignorance but instead begins making plans inside his own head for the trip.

_*_*_*_*_*_

Seishu's head comes up as the smell of food wafts his way from the doorway. Everyone turns their attention to Cho as he comes in with his usual jovial smile and a spring in his step. In front of him is a cart with plates of food, enough for everyone, even the absent one. Seishu settles back, having sat up a while ago after Enasi shoved him off because he needed to stretch his legs. Rue bounces up, helping Cho hand out the plates. “Looks like we have one extra! But that's okay. She can have it later! Oh my, what's that?” Seishu looks up to where Cho is pointing at the headboard as Spike comes crawling over. With a giggle he sends the scorpion off to say hello to the cook while he begins eating his meal.

[AkiBlue]

In the heart of the mood, Seishu grabbed Crios and kissed him. Enasi's eyes widened and he covered his mouth. He refrained from giggling and watched as the startled doctor pushed Seishu back. Enasi put his arms out for the guardian to soften his fall, before laying him back on his lap. He didn't get upset or jealous, considering Crios' own negative energy was dispelled. Seishu somehow managed to help them all feel a little better. To think his two top minions started off disliking Seishu with a passion, to now being able to... get so close to him.

All that mattered was that they were happy. Seishu began to sing that familiar lullaby and he smiled. He shook his head a few times when Seishu coaxed him to sing. But after a few nudges Enasi sang with him. It was fun to hear the little ones singing along. Harper tapped his foot lightly to it, and Finn and Crios watch with smiles. When the song ended they all fell silent to listen to Seishu's story.

- - - -

Kaila took a slow breath and spoke up. "Alright. I'll have them prepare." Before Kaila could say much else, Starla crossed her arms.

"Another, important detail." Because Kaila was happy to know his Lord was visiting, he showed more expression than before. Kaila raised an eyebrow, wondering what else could be so important. "Lord Enasi plans to accompany him in that realm. It's unfortunate enough that Seishu is injured, it would be great- no wise, to make sure both aren't injured." Kaila's eyes narrowed towards her comment. He didn't say a word, knowing he'd probably lash out right after. The girl was certainly a smart mouth. . . And annoying. . . And a nuisance. But he would hold his tongue for now. His guardian was planning to come home, even if it was just for a visit.

The nightmare minions needed to see their guardian. Kaila was sure, they'd swell with a newfound hope to see him getting better. "As I just said. . . I shall begin preparing for his arrival. And since he will be coming here to recharge, inform Lord Seishu that Lan and Ran will be here for him." Starla was looking down at her flowers around her feet, and jumped slightly when there was a lash by her side.

"I'm paying attention! Calm yourself!" Starla frowned, refraining from letting her blades show. "I'll relay the message." Without another word, Kaila turned to hurry and begin preparing for Seishu's arrival.

- ! - - -

When Enasi returned, he had automatically went to sit in his normal seat. And when he walked in, the trio reclaimed their seats around Seishu. Enasi grinned as Cho waltzed in with food. "Thank you Cho." They all said as he handed plates to Rue so he could pass them out. Their food pertained to their favorite things, or at least what seemed like it would fit them. For example, Harper was given a carrot based lunch that made him perk up in delight.

Cho found himself poking at the scorpion. "What a friendly little thing." He scooped it up and patted it while everyone else ate.

[PopeAlessandros]

“Yeah, that's Spike. I brought him home last we were out. Speaking of. . .” Seishu turns to Crios with a raised eyebrow. Crios continues eating, falling into thought on the matter. Rue wriggles up to Seishu with big, wide, begging eyes and the guardian just stares back for a while with a blank expression. Finn's about to speak up, fairly positive he knows what the little minion wants, but he catches Harper shaking his head gently without looking up from his meal and stays silent. “Hmmmm. . . . .Well. . . .” Seishu glances to his counterpart. “It's not up to me. . ..” Like a shot Rue flies off the bed to go display his big sparkly eyes to Enasi.

While he's busy begging to go with this time Crios comes out of his revery and is about to speak up when Starla walks in, looking a little irritated, but fine otherwise. Finn perks up, handing her her plate as she comes to stand next to him against the same wall as Crios. After a few mouthfuls she gives her report. “I met with. . . I forgot his name. . .”

“Kaila.” Finn whispers, Seishu's eyes narrowing slightly along with Rasha's.

“Yeah, Kaila. Little Night 2.0. Anyways, I told him you and Lord Enasi plan on going to the Nightmare Realm in two days and he kinda stared at me a bit before saying that he'd make preparations. He didn't go into specifics, but then again I don't get the impression that he is in the habit of explaining himself, like someone else we all know. . .” She eyes Seishu and he just gives her a smart ass grin.

Harper sets his plate back on the cart. “I too have some preparations to make for Lord Enasi's absence.” Eying Rasha for a moment he lets out a sigh. “Rasha, I want you to come too. You know this realm almost as good as Lord Enasi, and I can use that.” Rasha, in his humanoid form, whines and looks between Harper and Seishu, but a quick glance at Enasi and he lets out a sigh. Wolfing down the last few bites of his meal he does a flying leap at rabbit man. To his credit, Harper only flinches at the action, giving the now feline form on his shoulder a hard look before walking out with it still perched there.

[AkiBlue]

Enasi wasn't paying much attention to their broken sentences. He was quietly eating when all of a sudden large sparkly eyes were peering up at him. He raised an eyebrow and moved his plate from obscuring the view of Rue. "Yes little one?" He watched Rue take a rather large breath and then speak.

"Oh please, please Lord Enasi may I go to the human realm with you and the others? I've learned my lesson and I really want to go. I want to help. I promise to stay by you both and not stray off and I promise not to get in any trouble. I just want to help and staying here while you all are away is so boring! There's nothing to do after I finish with Harper's errands and please forgive me I didn't mean to-" Enasi covered Rue's mouth before he could continue. It gave the little fairy the opportunity to finally breathe. When he stopped talking, his eyes were still wide and a little teary. Enasi slowly removed his hand and Rue spoke slowly this time. "Please?"

Enasi gave a serious look for a brief moment, only to soften and smile gently. "I forgive you and I think you've learned your lesson. I'll let you come with us, as long as you will promise to stay with the group. Alright?" Rue nearly exploded with joy as he flew up and hugged his guardian tightly.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! I promise promise promise I will stay with everyone and I won't get into trouble. I promise! Thank you thank you thank you!" Enasi laughed and moved his plate out the way before it could be knocked over and kissed the little minion's head lightly. Rue beamed and moved out the way to sit with Inui and giggle about how he would be able to go. Rue made sure to relax his energy before doing so though.

Finn merely shook his head as Starla spoke. It seemed both of them were digging graves for themselves with every mistake. "Oh yeah, he also said... Lan and Ran, I think those were the names, would be in the human realm for the next two days. So keep watch for them when we go." With that, Starla continued eating her meal. When most of them finished, they set their empty plates back on the cart that was pushed in.

Cho was mildly fascinated by the little critter Seishu picked up and he giggled. "Does Spike here eat? I'll have to make sure I bring him something back. The chef let Spike crawl back on the bed and watched as he crawled to mess with Inui.

- ~ ~ ~ ~ -

Rasha got comfortable on Harpers shoulder, draping his tail around the male's neck. "So what do you need me for?" Being a little cat, Rasha was slightly entertained by one of Harper's droopy ears and pawed at one.

[PopeAlessandros]

Seishu smiles and pats Rue on the head as he rambles on about how happy he is to be going to Inui, his eyes still on Starla as she delivers that last part of her report. 'So, Kaila's going to go back to the realm for preparations. It's the only reason he'd have Lan and Ran looking out for me rather than doing it himself. I don't know what Starla has against him, but I think one of these days she's gonna piss him off, and I'm actually gonna ask Enasi to let him go a bit. I think getting her ass handed to her is something she kinda needs' The Nightmare Guardian giggles aloud at Rasha's antics before turning his attention to Cho's question.

“Well, he can eat. . Maybe some french flies, or some frying mantis. . .” Rue and Inui stare at him a little wide eyed, not getting the jokes, however Finn and Starla start giggling hard. Crios too has no idea what Seishu is talking about, but he hides it under a mask of indifference. On the other hand, Cho both gets the joke, and understands what Seishu means.

“So, he would like some fresh insects? Anything else?” He asks brightly, watching with a wide grin as Spike begins burrowing into Inui's hair. Rue giggles at the sigh and begins playing with the nightmare minion's hair as well.

With a nod Seishu chuckles. “Yeah, bug and some sweet water. Like I said, he doesn't have to eat, but I think he'd enjoy it none the less Chocolate.” Cho giggles at his nickname and nods. Once all the plates are empty and on the cart he gives the room one last huge smile and with a wave bounces out of the room behind it. A few seconds later Finn and Starla excuse themselves as well, having been away from the garden far too long for their tastes. Seishu watches them leave with a blank expression, while once again he imagines Kaila kicking her arse.

~*~*~*~*~

Rasha flies along the streets of town, his body no more than a streak of white to the being he rushes past. In his mind he uses his skill for laying out elaborate pranks to begin mapping to town inch for inch. Harper wants a detailed map of it all, including who lives where, and most of the town people's schedules and he knows Rasha is the best dream for the task. He takes a corner, half tripping a goat centaur guy with an arm load of fresh veggies. The dream yells after him, but Rasha doesn't pay attention. His first task is to map the town. The general wants escape routs planned for everyone in town, down to the last dream gnat. Should an attack happen while Lord Enasi is gone, he wants everyone to be able to get to the palace as quickly as possible. Rasha knows his work is important, so even though he longs to return to his idol's side, he keeps his mind firmly on the task.

[AkiBlue]

All who's left in the room now are casually sitting around as usual. Crios finally deems that he's not needed for the time being and stands. "As of now, you're fine Night. I'm going to go check on the medical wing Lord Enasi, if you don't mind." His things were packed and stored away before he stood up. Enasi nodded and smiled.

"If you say you're done, then by all means tend to your other tasks. You're not required to stay here when you're finished." He gave another nod as Crios bowed and walked off. He watched as Rue and Inui played with the scorpion, only for the two to stare at him happily.

"Lord Enasi! Come sit with us!" Rue bounced at the foot of the bed, reaching over and gesturing for him to get up. Inui smiled and scooted over, gently nudging Seishu over with pillows to make room. He pulled pillows from the dozens on the bed and fluffed them too.

Enasi giggled as they attempted to make the bed more comfortable. "Well if Seishu doesn't mind." He sort of expected Seishu not to, but he wanted to be on the safe side. So, Enasi climbed into the bed next to his counterpart and Rue and Inui giggled. Inui sat comfortably on Enasi's lap as he scooted downward to rest his head on Seishu's shoulder. Rue rested against Seishu across from Inui.

- - ! - -

Walking through the portal, Kaila ducked down, sneaking his way back to camp. Everyone was quietly around the camp, resting up. Kaila searched the base, looking for the two siblings. It didn't take too long, since they came up to him for news.

"Anything new?"

"Anything at all?"

Normally they expected a no from Kaila, and they would sigh and go about their business, but when Kaila nodded both brightened considerably. Kaila immediately silenced them, signaling for them to keep quiet. "I need the both of you to scout the human realm for the next two days. Lord Seishu will be there restoring his energy for a trip here." He silenced them before they could cheer. "You're to aid him got it?" They both nodded and followed Kaila as he began picking out a select few.

This select few so happened to be the ones that Kaila took on a trip to the Dream Realm. All five of them gave curious looks as Kaila stood in the center of them. "Important news, so listen up. You must stay silent of this. If they find out, it'll be trouble for us all." Now that he had everyone's attention, he continued. "In two days, Lord Seishu will be here. Unfortunately, it's just a visit. But nonetheless, he is returning. So in that time, we need to make sure we can heal him as much as possible, and keep him hidden." There were a few gasps and sounds of excitement, so he continued. "It's not going to be as easy as we think. The Guardian of the Dream Realm will be accompanying him. His energy is a sure giveaway, so we have to be extra careful. Not only this, but we have to keep both of them safe."

Kaila knew the consequences of tearing Balance, and to protect his own guardian, he had to protect the Dream Guardian as well. "Is that clear?"

[PopeAlessandros]

Seishu waves as Crios leaves, his attention mostly on the munchkins rolling around on the bed. Spike is now deeply embedded in Inui's hair and the young nightmare minion is flushing furiously as Rue sits astride him while he tries to dig the little guy out. Eventually Spike comes skittering out, making the winged minion squeal and fall back on to the bed with the arachnid scuttling over his chest. When at last they calm a bit and look over to Enasi, Seishu can feel his body relaxing comfortably. Even with all their energy tucked away, having so many inherently positive beings in such a small space for so long had stressed his body a little more than it's use to.

His smile widens as the little ones call Enasi over to the bed, and he even helps out Inui when the little minion tries to push him out of the way. Seishu raises an arm invitingly to Enasi to show he most certainly does not mind if his counterpart joins him. 'Well, what fun. Even with them here, I can see this being entertaining' Seishu knows that there is no way that he can get away with the stuff he pulls in his own palace back home as far as intimacy is concerned, but that will not stop him from having his fun with his love in front of the little ones.

His arm curls down a bit to hold Enasi's shoulder gently as the red topped head comes to settle against his shoulder. When Rue makes himself comfortable on his other side Seishu pulls his other arm out as well and curls it along the little one's back. Rue giggles and lets out a long sigh. “I feel so pimp right now. . .” The little ones look at Seishu briefly, a little confused, but they shrug it off an go back to resting comfortably.

Rue twines his fingers around a bit of Seishu's hair, watching Spike to a little dance at the foot of the bed. “So, um, are we going out tonight? I mean, you are all normally really tired when you get back, so maybe we should go after dinner, since Doctor Crios says Mister Seishu needs regular meals.”

Inui nods I agreement, shifting slightly so he can see Rue better. Seishu ruffles his hair and lets out a sigh. “I think after dinner would be good. I wonder what's on the menu for dinner. That steak from earlier was amazing. Chocolate really knows how to cook.” he little ones nod in agreement, Inui giggling lightly as Spike almost dances his way right off the bed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The troops salute as one, understanding their new orders perfectly. Harper dismisses them and as one they scatter off to go complete their assigned tasks. The rabbit general eyes the troops standing along the back wall, their eyes forward, their figures ridged. They've been there almost all day, as is their standing order when Harper is not directing them personally. With a sigh he waves them off to go for the afternoon meal and watches them closely as they salute and march off respectfully through the door. 'They are getting better. I know they are still agitated with Night's presence, but they really seem to want to get their posts back' He bites his lips gently, lost in through for a while. The room he's in is more or less the officer's barracks. The side walls are lined with beds, bunk beds to be precise, and the back wall has several large openable windows to let the light in.

Just left of the door into the barracks is a rather small square room that is Harper's personal office, and he's only in there once in a while. He has another office, where all the top ranked officers drop off their reports and hold meetings with the general, but when he wants to be alone and work quietly he uses the small sound proof room in the barracks. He looks to the windows on the far side of the room, blinking slowly as his worry nibbles at him gently. What Seishu did before really helped him, but it did nothing to stop new feelings from cropping up and digging in. His droopy ears snap up and rotate around suddenly and he braces himself.

Like a little fur rocket Rasha darts into the room, springboards off of Harper's tense shoulder, and does a flip, landing in humanoid form gently on the top bunk of the nearest bed. He giggles at the irritated look on the general's face but before he can speak up Rasha shushes him with a hand. “I got what you need, and if you yell at me now, I may lose it, so let me report before you lay into me, okay?” Harper blinks, rolls his eyes, then motions for Rasha to proceed. Then his eyes go wide as, quite literally, a 3D map of the town materializes in mid air in front of him, perfectly to scale, with every shingle and stall in the exact place it was when Rasha passed. Harper looks up at Rasha wide eyed. The trickster just shrugs. “How did you think I pulled off such big pranks Hops?”

[AkiBlue]

Enasi rolled his eyes at the comment and glanced up at Seishu. "I think you're saying that for the wrong minions." He scoffed playfully and rested his head down. If anyone, he'd probably pimp out Rasha and Kaila, the ones who would do anything for him. The two little ones still had their innocence, although he was sure Inui's would be gone once he got to the Nightmare Realm, so Seishu could only get so much out of them. He smiled at their precious innocence and sighed. Instead of scolding the guardian, Rue changed the subject.

"It would be best for us after dinner, I do agree." Enasi said and scooted some to get more comfortable. Cho was the best chef he had, and an excitable one. The guardian felt proud for his minion when Seishu complimented him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as he relaxed, making both minions a little worried.

"Lord Enasi, you can't fall asleep! Not unless Mister Seishu does too!"

"You don't want to be all alone right?"

A small smile formed on his lips as he listened to the concerned voices. Enasi opened his eyes to see two large pair rather close to him. With a giggle, he sat up some. "I'm not falling asleep, calm down." They both nodded in relief and relax, watching Spike proceed to crawl his way up to the dream guardian since he was the only one on the bed that he had never messed with.

- - ' ' - -

The troops saluted and three of the five were now extra cautious on patrol. They had others with them, but they didn't explain themselves when they had their squads sending traitorous minions farther than normal from the base. It was merely a matter of safety so they would say. They didn't need the entire camp getting excited over nothing but hope.

- - -

"Good work today Fuan. You're an exceptional doctor." Crios gently patted the deer woman's shoulder. She twiddled her thumbs in embarrassment and smiled.

"T-Thank you sir. It's an honor to hear that from you." She looked around at the near empty wing. She and the staff had managed to get most of the people healed and out and about. With the urgency of how things seemed, Fuan knew they'd need all the help, they could get. Soldiers were able to return to Harper in good shape. The travelers were able to go to and from realms with ease, and collect some of the extra positive energy to take home.

There were only three severely injured patients left, but each one needed some decent rest for the time being. "I need you to help me with one last task before I let you go." The urgency of it made her nod and follow him. "Remember when I showed you the belt of equipment I made for Night?" When she nodded, he continued, pulling said belt out. "Well, we're going to make one for Lord Enasi. Don't question why, I don't need you getting worked up alright? Just help me."

Being a passive little deer, Fuan nodded and began helping by grabbing the needles and putting in amounts of positive energy into them. Crios slipped one needle inside while Fuan wasn't paying attention. It was an emergency sedative for his guardian. If anything drastic were to happen, and he hoped nothing would, he would want Seishu to inject him with it. The liquid would more than likely knock him out so he wouldn't have to face too much pain. And he'd be much easier to carry back home. The thought of his guardian injured was chilling, but Crios had to take precautions either way. When it was, he put the belt on his desk to give to Seishu right before they left for the Nightmare Realm.

"Go get some rest. You've done excellent." He watched as Fuan nodded and walked out the medical wing, following her as well. The evening staff would arrive no time later to care for the last three patients in there.

- - -

"Alright! So here and here are the quickest exits to the palace. There's only two, but there are plenty of escape routes to get out of the city in general for example," Rasha pointed towards the end of town and to the forest area not too far away. "Perfect hiding place. I'd suggest the ones who could fly, take that route. The treetops are pretty thick and safe to hide in." He continued his report, letting Harper carefully eye the map. He'd pinpoint his own places to show more ways to get out. "Well~?"

Harper raised an eyebrow, knowing Rasha wanted some sort of gratitude. But the rabbit smirked and leaned against his desk. "Next." With a huff, Rasha projected the schedule for the town. It was pretty repetitive. Nothing really changed too much in their schedule and everyone send happy nonetheless. Once more did they go through, pinpointing everything they needed to along with routing places with the map.

"That's everything you told me to do."

With a small smirk, Harper nodded. "You did good. . . For a criminal." Rasha turned into his cat form and jumped in delight before hopping onto Harper's shoulder once more. He gave large hopeful eyes and purred gently. To make himself seem more innocent he nuzzled Harper's cheek before giving him the look once more, almost like asking if he could leave back to Seishu.

[PopeAlessandros]

Seishu chuckles lightly at the mention of pimping out the wrong minions. 'Oh, but my dear Enasi, it's the truly innocent ones that make the most money luv. These two could net me a fortune if I found the right buyers' He rolls his eyes at his own internal comeback, but a peaceful smile soon finds it's way to his lips as his counterpart closes his eyes. The near immediate reaction of the little ones makes him both grin and grimace as Rue climbs half across his chest to look into Enasi's face. 'Yes yes, would not want him there alone. And I'm not tired, so yeah. . .' Spike makes his way all the way up to Enasi's chest, his little feet hooking into his shirt so he has the leverage to look into the Dream Guardian's face.

As Spike does his best to get a good look at that thing that feels like Seishu only different the winged minion settles back against Seishu. The white haired male purrs at the warm feeling of having so many bodies around him and Rue giggles. “Mister Seishu, are you and Lord Enasi part cat?” Seishu looks at him curiously. “Well, cats purr, and you can purr, which means Lord Enasi can purr, and. . .y'know?”

Seishu chuckles lightly. “No, we are not part cat. It's just part of our anatomy. Our bodies are equipped with the parts that allow a being to purr.” Rue nods happily, now wondering about different body parts beings have, and how creatures make the noises they do. Seishu's gaze slides over to Enasi as Inui takes responsibility for the scorpion, setting it on the Nightmare Guardian's lap so he and Rue can play with it. His smile makes it obvious what he's thinking about as he looks deep into his counterpart's eyes. His hand comes up slowly and begins gently stroking Enasi's neck. A teasing touch, nothing too suggestive, just enough to let Enasi feel what he's feeling.

~*~*~*~*~

Harper lets out a long exasperated sigh, staring at those large falsely innocent eyes with his own stern emotionless gaze. The staring contest last for over five minutes until at last the rabbit man drops his head and waves the little furball off. Rasha lets out a squeal of delight and after biting Harper's ear playfully in gratitude he races out of the barracks and back towards Seishu's room. Reaching paw up to rub the bitten spot the general shakes his head, then with a few stretches, rockets off to do his usual patrol around the realm.

~*~*~*~*~

“So, do you think he hates me?”

Finn looks over to his sister. Her hands smooth gently over a large flower in the corner of the garden, and he can see by it’s slight shift from red to yellow that she is honestly worried about it. He does not reply right away, as is his way. She stays quiet, letting him think as she moves on to the next bush, this one full of dark purple flowers, which become a light lavender under her touch. Finn goes back to nursing one of the cherry trees in the garden, it's branches having wilted slightly from missing him and his sister. 'I do not think he hates her, or me for that matter. . .But I do think there is something about us that rubs him the wrong way'

He begins humming lightly, Starla following suit moments later. 'I think it's more. . . We're. . . Disappointing him. That's the feeling I get every time he looks at us with that. . . look. It's so hard to describe. Almost like “Are you really that stupid?” kinda. . .Maybe it's just my ego saying that, but I really don't think he hates us. He would not put up with having us around if he hated us' When he stops humming his sister looks to him, her eyebrow arched. Without looking to her he runs his fingers along a bent branch, causing it to perk up and murmurs, “I don't think he hates you. I think he expects something out of you that you have as of yet to show him, but he knows you are capable of.”

Starla stares at him for a long moment, then with a light smile, she nods. Her brother is smart. She trusts his assessments. She turns back to the bush in front of her and with a sigh it glows faintly, the flowers once more fading into a deep purple color.

[AkiBlue]

Enasi eyed the little creature that climbed onto his chest and watched as it seemed to examine over. The guardian poked at it, only for Spike to hold tighter to refrain from falling. In his little game with the scorpion, being Enasi poked at him only for Spike to crawl closer and poke back before he scooted away once more, Rue giggled out a question and Enasi paused. "Part cat?" He laughed softly and shook his head. When he thought of creatures being part cat, he thought of Rasha. They were definitely not the same as Rasha. The kid would probably die of happiness if Seishu was.

He watched as Inui took Spike away and played with him and laughed as Rue attempted to purr and growl. Feeling the pair of eyes on him, he looked up to see Seishu's gaze. It wasn't too hard to guess what was in his mind, and the gentle touch further explained it. Before he could react though, Rue was once again staring at them- well more so Enasi. "Lord Enasi, how come you don't purr or growl like Mister Seishu? He does it all the time, but I've never heard you do it." He held an innocent and for some reason concerned look as he questioned. Enasi raised an eyebrow and looked over at Rue. 'Curse your innocence you cute little fairy.' He was sure Seishu's conniving mind would probably find a way to use it to his advantage.

The guardian only smiled and reached over, tickling Rue. The minion rolled over and laughed, though still looked on for an answer. "Because, I never had much of a reason I guess?" Enasi answered with a small shrug.

- - - -

The little furry animal darted through the palace, speeding to go back to the comfort of the Nightmare Guardian. He didn't want to miss a moment with the guardian, especially with him preparing to leave. Earlier, Lord Enasi was kind enough to fix the lock on the door to allow access to the new members of the group. Before, only a few could open it, but now the whole special task force could. The cat jumped up and opened the door, sneaking his way in and closed the door behind him.

Rue and inui tilted their heads, seeing the door open and close, but see no one enter. Enasi felt the energy and smiled. "Three, two, one~" And by one, Rasha had jumped onto the bed darting to sit on Seishu's lap. Enasi's hand was closer, so he nudged it with his nose. When Enasi petted the minion Rasha purred and nuzzled into Seishu's stomach. "I see you've had a busy day." The little minion was still tired from all that running around he had to do, and practically collapsed under them.

Rue and Inui smiled at Rasha, but continued playing their little games with the scorpion. "So will you ever purr like Mister Seishu?" Now, Inui was curious. The question had Rasha lift an ear curiously, but he stayed quiet and relaxed under the guardian's touch. Enasi blinked and silently shrugged. It wasn't a yes or no, and it had the two giggling again. "So, we'll get to see you fly, and hear you purr?"

[PopeAlessandros]

Seishu can not help but find it a little hilarious that it's the injured man's body that is most often used to roughhouse on top of, despite it being obviously detrimental to his health. He is a little put out that Rue interrupted whatever was about to happen, and his growing energy serves to keep him quiet for fear of upchucking, however he still feels quite content for now. 'I have my lover on one arm, two little ones who are so easily amused and will most likely end up taking eachother's innocence one day, and any second now, a being so obsesses with me that my mere presence arouses him in a way I've only seen in a few of my own over the centuries'

True to his prediction the tiny instance of positive energy approaching his room turns out to be non other than Rasha. He doesn't really have a hand free at the moment so he lets Enasi do the petting for now. After the tickling was finished Rue had nestled back up against his side so once again both arms are trapped, but Rasha seems content for now so Seishu doesn’t bother freeing himself. As all eyes seem to turn to Enasi, the innocence shinning from those large orbs making him feel all the more devious. 'Oh, one of those he'll show you willingly, but I think I may have to coax the other out of him'

Rasha can hear the heartbeat of the Nightmare Guardian rising and he recognizes the tune easily. Shifting carefully off of Seishu's lap he transforms and pulls Inui towards the end of the bed. “Maybe we should check and see if Inui can purr too!” The nightmare minion meeps and squirms at the look in Rasha's eyes, however Rue is just as innocently curious to know the answer to that and shifts down to watch what Rasha is going to do to try and get Inui to purr. Spike too seems interest as it scuttles away to the foot of the bed. Seishu smirks at the sight.

“Well, he has the right idea about extracting purrs. . .” he murmurs softly, dragging his gaze up to the now very accessible Enasi. Slowly by smoothly he slides in and kisses his counterpart gently, his most charming smile in place each time he pulls back. His hands dance across Enasi's midsection before sliding carefully around behind him to stroke his lower back gently. He knows he's not likely to get out a purr in front of the little ones, however that does not stop him from trying. After all, they are far too distracted by Rasha's gentle teasing of Inui to notice what's going on at the head of the bed. Balancing himself on his good arm he slides around for better access to his playmate, one of his knees coming to settle between Enasi's. He is careful to keep it low as to not startle the other guardian and end the fun too quickly. His kisses deepen slightly, but he pulls back often to let Enasi breath, and just in case a purr would like to find it's way out between those lush well kissed lips.

[AkiBlue]

"Maybe...?" Enasi returned the question with another of his own. Rasha's occasional ear twitches made it known that he was a little more interested than the other two, and for much different reasons. The guardian noticed this when he moved off Seishu's lap and grabbed Inui. 'Poor Inui.' The guardian thought as the minion was pulled into Rasha's hold. His cheeks darkened as both minions were staring at him. One had a more devious look and it made him nervous. Even more so because he couldn't escape. "Rasha is going to steal their cute little innocence away." He thought a loud before hearing Seishu.

"You're not-" He started, only to be interrupted by a kiss. He shivered lightly, but refrained from purring. After doing it once though, it was a lot harder to control being a natural instinct he suppressed. He thought he could just suppress it like he normally did, but his willpower to was a weakened... because somewhere in the back of his mind, he actually wanted to. There were soft sighs of content and possible gentle purrs- ones that could be felt and not heard. He paused, only to listen when he heard Rue's giggles.

But, it wasn't directed to the guardians. They still somehow managed to be distracted by Rasha. Rasha on the other hand was more than aware of what was going on at the head of the bed and the foot of the bed, but he contained himself in order to keep the other two distracted. "Hmm, I don't think I'm trying hard enough. I'm almost sure Inui can purr! We just need to try again! Hey Rue~ why don't you try?" Inui was still rendered captured and couldn't escape.

In between one kiss, Enasi paused putting a hand to the other's chest. "Didn't the doctor say not to strain yourself?" He voiced out in a soft whisper. It was also enough to distract him from purring. He didn't know why it was such a goal for his counterpart. And he didn't think he'd ever figure it out. "You don't want doctor Crios scolding you again do you?"

[PopeAlessandros]

There is a small dance of victory in Seishu's head as he feels the very faint rumble beneath his fingers. 'Whoo! I can now call them up on command! This is great. Now if I could only make them louder. . .' His attention diverts for a millisecond as Rasha tells Rue to try. 'Good little dream, so you've noticed as well! I don't think even Little bite or Enasi has noticed yet. . . At least not to the direction it's all heading' His enthusiasm builds a bit as he tries to deepen his counterpart's purring, however after far too short a time devouring that delectable little dish beneath him the Dream Guardian pushes him back gently and he stops without a fuss. Not that he doesn't want to fuss, in fact he normally would, however as he pulls back from Enasi he can feel a familiar, and far less pleasant than what Enasi aroused, heat that causes his mind to begin throbbing.

“Oh, c'mon Rue, you can do better than that!” Inui is already beginning to breath a little heavier, his eyes pleading to be let go while his body seems primed for more, however Rue stops in the middle of what he's doing, much to the confusion of the other two. While Inui is grateful, he knows there is only one thing that would distract the fairy from having fun like that and make him go completely still.

“Rasha. Up and off the bed.” The words are whispered quite softly by Inui, and for an instant the trickster does not move. However a moment later Rue tugs on him and together the three of them dismount as one. Rasha looks at Seishu, worry sinking deep into his eyes as he sees the man fall back on to the pillows breathing hard, and not in a good way.

Rue darts out of the room top speed and races for Crios's office. Meanwhile Inui looks up and Rasha. “What's wrong?” he whispers, a whimper in the back of his throat.

Inui looks to the increasingly distraught guardian's face and shakes his head a little. “I don't know. Normally his pain doesn't set on this fast, and,” He looks o Seishu's hands, the nails of one digging into the flesh on the back of his hand on the other, “I've never seen him to that before!” His voice is quiet, but still panicked. As the two watch in horror Seishu becomes more and more enraged, his eyes closed tight as his energy begins cracking along his skin in black and white blue bolts. The cracking sound grows louder and louder as the bolts grow bigger and bigger. All dreams and minions nearby can feel the increase in negative energy and begin moving away from it. All save for those in the room, Rue, Crios, and the siblings, who took off towards the room the instant they sensed the increase.

Behind those tightly closed eyes a horrible sight plays through his mind. He can see, as if through another's eyes, as one of the nurse maids from the palace is slowly tortured. The female minion, large and strong, a great protector, refuses to scream out in pain even as the hands behind the torture slices into her again and again. Seishu lets out a whimper, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as one of he breasts if first split open, then ripped off by the bare hands of the one whose eyes he's seeing through. At last she folds, the fingers tearing through her flesh becoming too much.

The Nightmare Guardian tries desperately to block out the sound, his hands going from being clutched in front of him to clawing at his ears as he pained screams find their way through his mind as if he's right there. The hand with his symbol on his is glowing brightly, the blood streaking across it from the clutching doing nothing to hide the harsh pulsating light. His own screams join hers in a sick kind of chorus as the blade lashes out once more, and he recognizes it. He can not form words, the horror of it all sapping all ability to be coherent, or even careful. He's seen many of his underlings killed on the battlefield, but never in such a torturous manner, and most certainly not looking upon the scene as if he's the one causing it. He can understand what is happening, that he is not truly the one slowly dismantling the brave woman, however his soul rips with the pain of it none the less, the perspective, and what is left of him in the blade filling the gaps between what is real, and what is being forced into reality.

[AkiBlue]

Enasi expected a retort as Seishu pulled away. Just like always, the nightmare guardian always had a comeback. But this time it didn't happen. The dream guardian immediately felt something wrong, though Inui and the others said something before he could. When Seishu fell back, Enasi sat up looking at him with worried eyes. "Seishu, what's wrong!? Where does it hurt?" Before he could send Rue off, the kid was already out the door. "You two, stay back." The minions stayed back as they were told and stayed near the door, just in case things got out of hand. . . Though that's what it seemed like. "Seishu, focus!" He tried to call him out of the sudden panic, but it wasn't doing any good.

Seeing him dig into his hands, made Enasi grab them and pull them apart. He held them tight, trying to coax the guardian into a calmer state. "You have to calm down Seishu." He held the other's hands down. Oddly enough, that normal tingling in his symbol wasn't as strong as it normally was. He looked down at their hands seeing the symbol on his palm get rather faint for a split second. "Oh no. . ." He gasped softly, ignoring the lashings that Seishu was throwing. He didn't know what to do with the guardian- at this point it started to get beyond simple medical treatment. The minion trying to take Seishu's throne was getting serious. He didn't know how, or if it was even possible, but the minion was sure trying.

Seishu ripped away from his grip to grab his ears, and Enasi flinched when he started to scream. There was blood on his hands from his clawing, but it was easy to ignore. The guardian didn't know what to do, but he refrained from panicking outwardly. He tried to keep his emotions intact, just as he always did. Gently, he held the nightmare guardian's face in his hands. He tried to speak gently in order to get through to him. But talking didn't seem to go anywhere fast, so he did the next best thing.

“Rest you now,
come rest your head.
It is now time
it is time for bed...

He started the lullaby with a shaky voice. His eyes were teary from such pained expressions from his counterpart. He moved his hands down to Seishu's shoulders as he slowly mumbled the song until it was finished. 'Whatever that minion is doing. . . It's working. . . And that's not good. Why doesn't he understand the balance? We'll both end up dying because of him! He needs to be stopped. . .' Somewhere in the song, he had teared up without realizing it, making Inui start to sniffle and Rasha grabs onto his tail, pacing back and forth.

Crios bursted through the door, careful not to get hit by the negative energy. He looked in shock for a moment but hurried to do his job. Without question, he hurried and moved to the bedside and moved the dream guardian away to administer the shot. The siblings came in not long after and pushed the smaller minions out and waited with them. "What happened? How'd he get like this?" Crios tried to get a calm response, knowing that his guardian was panicking- even if he didn't show it.

"I-I don't know! That minion did something. I don't know what he did though. . . It's like he's trying to cut the connection of the guardian's though. . . We may need to hurry and get him over there. . .Before this gets worse." Worried, Enasi sat on the bed, at Seishu's side. He was also making sure the doctor didn't get hurt in the process.

- - - -

"Tch, she should be thankful. I let her live. Next time know your place, unless you want that to you buried." Gin wiped his bloodied hands on a towel and watched as two minions took the broken and beaten woman away. He looked at the forming symbol in his hand, feeling a sharp pain. It only made him ball his fist knowing that for, even for a split second, he was stronger than the former nightmare guardian. And the feeling was amazing.

But the frustration of the nightmare guardian still being alive made him growl out, partially yelling.

"I will be the new guardian. . ."

- - -

"Will he be okay?"

"What's happening?"

Rue was flying back and forth in a panic. His little wings beat faster than ever. Rasha was also pacing back and forth, with his tail twitching furiously. Inui on the other hand was sitting against the opposite wall, hugging his legs and staring at the door.

The siblings looked at each other, unsure of how to answer the questions. "We don't. . . We don't know. Just trust Crios to subdue him."

- - -

Enasi bit his lip, wondering what else he could do. This had definitely gotten worse than before and soon enough, if they couldn't tame it, both guardians would end up getting hurt. Finally getting idea, Enasi held Seishu's hand and whispered gentle words. Crios didn't know what he was doing until he saw the negative energy go from Enasi and snake to Night.

[PopeAlessandros]

Kaila sits quietly, listening to the report from the palace. He takes in every horrific detail with a calm expression, until at last the minion mentions the pulse coming from the symbol on Gin's hand. Kaila looks up, unsure of the meaning behind the pulse, but he knows it can not be something good. 'That symbol connects Master Seishu to Gin, even if it is in a small way. . . But if it's getting stronger on Gin, then it would be fading from Master Seishu. . .' One of his hands slides up in front of his mouth, and much like his lord Kaila bites down hard on a bent knuckle until blood drips out from beneath those pearly whites.

Those who know him well look to one another, such a display making them very nervous. Tiski steps up to stand next to him, a hand coming to rest gently on his shoulder. The young girl was the last to join his team, replacing one who fell in the battle before last. Despite her age he skills and devotion to Seishu made her stand out above her peers. It was not long after her initial training was completed that Kaila recruited her. She had a softer touch than the rest on the team, often coming to them with her problems and hanging out with them just for fun. She is the little sister they all never had, to put it simply. And right now, she is afraid for her older brother. He never expresses himself in such a way unless it is something really bad.

Kaila looks up to her, know that this is not the time to be getting upset and frightening his troops. His blood stained finger falls from his lips, leaving a trail of red down his chin which he licks up quickly. He takes a calming breath before standing up and looking around at those gathered to hear the report. The one who relayed the report is trying hard to not lash out, the sight having angered him greatly. She had been one of the ones who'd raised him and it took everything he had to keep his energy down. Flaring up would have given him away as a spy. Kaila looks to him, then once more to the rest. “Double patrols. He'll be feeling feisty and arrogant after that and may try to hunt us down tonight. Pack up all non essentials in case we have to move into the deeper woods for a time.” With a wave of his hand those gathered disperse to do as they were told. Tiski however gives his hand a quick squeeze before running off to check on the little ones at the far edge of the swamp.

_*_*_*_*_

As the scenes of torture begin to fade from behind his eyes Seishu calms ever so slightly, his soul still in torment over what he'd seen. He can feel his energy once more, and somewhere in the back of his mind he knows he needs to pull it back in. 'I have to pull it in. If I don't save it up, I won't be able to see my little ones. They need me. . .They. . .I. . .' Another scream finds it's way from his throat, but moments later he feels something new slipping into his body. The pain, the anguish, all begins to fade away ever so slightly as this new feeling caresses it.

The screams fade from his ears as a new sound takes their place. As fist it just sounds like mumbling, a nonsensical jumbling of syllables, but as he focuses on them he recognizes what he's hearing. He breathing slows, the tears pouring from his eyes going from being a torrent of salt water down to a faint trickle. That soft voice, those words of fear, pain, and other such things soothing his soul in a way only the purest of negative energy can. Around his body to bolts settle, turning to a faint mist that covers his skin, then vanishes as he draws them back in. The terrible burn coming from the back of his hand, where his symbol lay, becomes cool and he can once more feel a hand in his own.

The soft skin and tight grip draws a sigh from him as at last his breathing becomes easy once more. He can not find it in him to open his eyes just yet so he focuses on the breath on his ear, the hand in his own. Crios looks on, his expression still worried, but the panic behind his eyes fading as the distraught guardian seems to fall into a more regular rhythm, his breathing and heart beat reverting to their normal pace. Seishu is coated in sweat and without a word he moves over to the doorway so he can send one of the young ones to get some replacements from Enasi's room.

~*~*~*~*~

Harper returns to the palace just in time to feel Seishu's energy fading back to normal, however he knows that there was no rational reason for it to be up so high to begin with, so without pausing he races through the halls at top speed until he reaches the hallway outside Seishu's room. The sight that greets his eyes is enough to cause his worry to spike even higher. Rue had drifted down to hold Inui who had been unable to stop from crying from the screams coming from his new guardian, and despite his urge to pace anxiously Rasha had propped himself up next to them, draping his long tail over the both of them in an attempt to comfort them.

At one point Finn had taken hold of his sister from behind before leaning against the wall, his face buried in her hair to hide his own tears from the pain of hearing such agony, even from someone he doesn't particularly care for. Starla is the only one with completely dry eyes, but her blank stare makes it obvious that she's just being strong for her brother.

This is how the general finds them, and as he rushes in they all look up at his approach. He is about to race right into the room when the door opens to reveal a very haggard looking Crios. Before Harper or the others can ask anything the doctor speaks. “He's out of the woods, his vitals back to normal. Lord Enasi was able to calm him, but he's going to need a change of clothes and some new bedding. I don't want any of you in here until I can speak to Night, so please, be patient. Lord Enasi and I are alright, Lord Enasi kept the bolts from striking me and blocked the rest from hitting him.” Turning to Starla and Finn, the later of which is peeking out of his sister's hair, he adds, “Would one of you please go to the main part of the medical wing and check on the situation there. Come tell me immediately if there is something my staff feels they can not handle.”

Without a word Finn heads off for the central area of the medical wing while Inui and Rue head towards Enasi's room for clothing. Despite not living in the palace Rasha knows where the utility closets are and heads off to get bedding. Starla lets out a long breath as Finn moves out of sight before letting her tears fall. However she stays in place, right beside the door, ready to handle any repercussions that may come from the rest of the palace staff from the sudden outburst. Harper however keeps his gaze locked on Crios, not budging until he gets some sort of explanation. The doctor shakes his head, his gaze falling to the ground.

“From what I can tell, that minion trying to take over the Nightmare Realm did something that sent Night into a fit. Lord Enasi said something about trying to break the connection, but I don't know what he could have been doing, or why it affected Night the way it did. . .” He recalls Seishu clutching at his ears, as if trying to block something out and he lets out a long sigh. “I don't know what to make of it, but I think he was hearing something, maybe even seeing something, that hurt him so bad that all of his control shattered. I don't think, other than a strong pulse, that his slip went beyond his room. None of the bolts got past the shield Lord Enasi put up. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my patient.”

As he turns to go however he looks back to Harper, “Make sure everyone is ready for a trip tonight. He'll need it after this.” Harper feels the urge to object, such a happening bringing up his caution walls, however the look in Crios's eyes stops him and he simple watches as the door closes behind the foxy doctor. Glancing over at Starla he takes a place on the other side of the door, doing her the honor of not watching her cry out her pain.

~*~*~*~*~

Cho had been about ready to begin on the dinners for the Nightmare Guardian and the gang when the sudden pulse of negative energy had sent all of his staff running from the kitchen. Cho however had stayed, riding out the sickness that overwhelmed him and sticking near the sink in case his lunch decided to make a second appearance. He managed to keep his meal however and as the pulse pulled back he'd pulled out a pack of peas to press to his forehead.

The cool feeling of the bag of frozen vegetable is enough to calm his nerves and with a long sigh he puts them back in the freezer. “Wow, that was not normal. I hope everyone is okay. . .” His usual chipper tone is far milder and he decides to check in with the gang. “I can take orders as to what they want for dinner.” He speaks the excuse aloud as he walks slowly from the kitchen and towards the source of the sudden disturbance.