The pair of brown eyes flashed open, the small girl sitting up in bed. She looked around the small room, wide-eyed, a couple stray tears leaking down her cheeks. Tossing back the blankets, she padded toward the door. Leaning out, she glanced up and down the darkened hallway. A light was on in Erik's room – was he still awake? Azura moved off, going to see.
The red-headed boy sat with his head down on his worktable, mouth open and snoring. Tugging on his sleeve, Azura whispered, "Erik? Erik, I had a bad dream . . . ."
"No, no, the engine's just flooded, give it a minute to drain out . . . " the older Defender muttered, shifting slightly. Azura frowned at him, then turned to leave without another word.
Rion's room was just down the hall, the door slightly open. Azura peeked around it, at the blond boy sound asleep on his bed. She crossed to the bedside, giving his shoulder a shake. His eyes opened, blinking sleepily.
"Azura? What are you still doing up?"
"I had a bad dream," she answered, lip quivering slightly. "I'm scared to go back to sleep, in case I dream it again."
The boy reached out, ruffling her already sleep-tousled hair. "It was just a dream," he assured her. "Dreams don't mean anything for real life."
Azura looked down. "I guess."
Rion smiled. "Okay. Go get some sleep – we have a busy day tomorrow."
"Okay. Thanks, Rion." She was just about out the door when a thought struck. "If dreams don't mean anything for real life, then why do some of Mel's dreams come true?"
Rion was already asleep again.
A light was on in the kitchen, Seth and Mel sitting together at the table, studying a map. Or rather, Seth was studying the map, with Mel having fallen asleep on his shoulder. Azura came up on Seth's left, climbing into a chair. He looked up in surprise.
"I thought you went to bed hours ago."
"It's only been twenty minutes," Mel muttered, eyes still closed, thinking he was speaking to her.
"I just had a bad dream, that's all," Azura said quietly, not looking up at the two of them.
Mel's eyes opened, and she lifted her head to look concernedly at the younger girl. "What bothers you about it?"
Azura bit her bottom lip briefly before sliding down from her chair, circling around to climb up on Mel's lap. The Wizard hugged her, letting the little girl lean against her. Seth watched, waiting.
"I . . . I dreamed that Roodu and I were back in the mine," Azura began. "We were running away from the big guards, but they were too fast. Then there was a big hole in the ground, making us stop. Roodu said that you guys would catch us at the bottom. He jumped first, but when he did, a big, ugly thing with a bunch of teeth flew up out of the dark, and it . . . it. . . . ." She hiccupped once, starting to cry again.
Mel hugged her. "Shh, it's okay. The dream's over, you and your brother are safe."
Seth moved closer, crouching down beside the chair, putting one hand on Azura's shoulder. "Dreams can't hurt you," he said, smiling reassuringly. "Especially not when you're with us."
"Mel's dreams come true sometimes," Azura said doubtfully. "I heard you guys say so."
The two older Defenders exchanged a look. Seth stood, pulling his chair closer against Mel's, putting an arm across the back of her seat.
"Mel's dreams are . . . different than normal ones," he said, trying to clarify without confusion. "She sees things that might happen in the future, or are happening at the time. And even if she sees the future, it doesn't always mean it'll happen."
"Are you sure?" Azura wasn't.
Mel nodded. "We're positive. Seth's had dreams about giant squirrels and unicorns, and we definitely haven't seen any of those."
Azura giggled at that. "Okay."
"All right. Back to bed with you then," the Wizard girl said. "Don't forget, we all have to be up early tomorrow."
Obediently, the small girl climbed down, heading for the door. "'Night. Thank you."
Seth smiled. "You're welcome." When she was gone, he turned to find Mel grinning to herself as she rolled up the map. "What? Something funny?"
"No, not really. It's just . . . did you ever run to your parents' room if you had a bad dream?"
The dark-haired leader shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much every kid does that, I would think. Why?"
Mel hesitated. "Well, it's funny how, when Azura had a nightmare, she came and found us. And the reaction you had to her problem – you sounded . . . like a dad."
"I did?"
"Picture it, Seth. A kid scared about a bad dream, sitting with her mom, listening to her dad promise that there's no monster under he bed."
"That's probably what we look like a minute ago," Seth nodded, catching on. "This whole thing, with training Roodu and Azura; it's like a crash-course in parenting."
He looked up at Mel, to find her watching him. She blushed slightly, dropping her gaze to the map in her hands. "I didn't mean anything by bringing I up. It was just a thought."
Seth smiled. "I know." Putting his right arm around her shoulders, he started them toward the door. "Now come on, we should get to bed too." He paused. "That came out wrong."
Mel laughed, slipping her left arm around his waist. "It's okay, I know what you meant. And you're right."
Up ahead, Roodu stepped out of his room, looking distinctly upset. Catching sight of Seth and Mel, he ran toward them, a couple tears appearing. Seth caught him, the younger boy burying his face in the side of his shirt. The dark-haired leader glanced over at Mel.
She smiled slightly, flashing him a "Here-we-go-again" look. He grinned back.