Nightmares and Cocoa
Author's note: This story takes place a few days after the end of New Mutants 25. After issue 25 Rahne and Illyana appear to get along a bit better, not well but Rahne stopped calling her a witch every third panel (slight exaggeration). I figure that they reached some accommodation after the events in Issue 25. Apologies for my attempt to write a Scottish burr.
"Yiiii" Rahne cried out and awoke with a start.
She quickly sat up in bed and transformed into her half wolf half human state. She scanned the room with her enhance senses, nothing was there, there were no monsters lurking. She was not there.
"Just'a dream, it'a was just'a dream" Rahne panted to herself. Rahne reverted to human form to find herself covered in a cold sweet. "Oh ick, I'm all wet" Rahne thought as she got out of bed and changed into a fresh pair of pajamas. Rahne turned on her bedroom light and looked in her dresser's mirror. A tired and slightly bedraggled young girl looked back at her.
"Another'r rough night" sighed Rahne to herself. She glanced over at the clock on her bed stand, a red glowing 3:13am announced that the morning was still hours away.
"Something ta drink will calm mie nerves" Rahne decided. She put on her robe and some fuzzy bunny slippers and quietly made her way to the main kitchen. She spent the next few minutes making herself a glass of instant hot cocoa, just the way Dani had taught her. Use milk not water, it makes it extra creamy, use two packets of mix and don't forget that you have to put the little marshmallows on it.
"Yummy" Rahne thought as she took a sip.
She turned out the kitchen lights and made her way to the den. Rahne decided not turn on any lights as she went as it was a full moon and the ambient moonlight from the windows was sufficient for navigation if one was careful; plus it looked nice. Rahne always liked being outside at night in wolf form after everybody had gone to sleep. The world was peaceful and quite then, just like now.
As Rahne entered the darkened den she could see and hear the dying remains of a fire in the fireplace. There were only a few fading red points, but there was still the sense of heat.
"Tsk" Rahne thought as she sat in one of the overstuffed leather chairs (the kind you find in English gentlemen clubs, the ones with the high backs and the brass rivets).
"Somebody lef't a fire lit, good t'ing I came down" Rahne congratulated herself as she took another sip of her cocoa.
"Hello Rahne" a voice whispered out of the darkness.
In front of Rahne a face emerged from the shadows, another person was also in the den sitting in another high backed leather chair. They had been completely cloaked in darkness but now their face could be seen. It was her, the witch, Illyana.
"Yiiiii" Rahne cried dropping her cocoa as she stood up and shifted again into her half wolf form.
"Quiet Rahne, you'll wake everybody up. What's wrong with you"? Illyana inquired with a puzzled expression on her face.
With her enhanced senses Rahne could now see Illyana was sitting in the chair in front of her. Illyana was also in her pajamas wearing a robe but did not have any slippers on. She was holding a coffee cup in her right hand that Rahne could tell contained hot cocoa (she could smell it).
"Why are you following me witch" Rahne growled.
"Um... what are you talking about, I've been here for hours" Illyana replied. "I heard you in the kitchen and was surprised that you decided to come into the den and sit next to me. I thought you wanted to talk".
"I did'na know you were there" Rahne growled as she sat back down and transformed back into her human form. "I'd rather eat broken glass then spend'a time with you".
"Don't" Illyana replied as she sat back, her face vanishing back into the darkness.
"Don'ta what" Rahne replied.
"Eat glass, bad idea". Illyana answered.
"What ar'e you talking about" Rahne replied with some confusion, "What would you know about eating glass, its just'a expression that Sam uses all the time".
There was silence for a few seconds, and then Illyana sighed. "Not for everybody. Belasco was always a big believer in hands on training. One did not just learn magic, one had to use magic. Belasco liked to provide extra motivation when I first learned self healing spells. Took me over a month to get it right. Let's just say I bleed a lot and leave it at that".
Rahne sat stunned in her chair for a few seconds. "Your'a lying, that's not possible" she angrily stated.
"Wish it were true, I still get nightmares about being compelled to chew on a light bulb" Illyana replied while slurping her cocoa.
"What would'a you know about nightmares witch, you'ra not afraid of anything. People fear you, you cause nightmares".
"Wish that was true as well" Illyana rebutted after taking another sip. "Let me guess, you just had an unpleasant dream and I was there doing something to you" Illyana hypothesized, "You woke up and were afraid to go back to sleep so instead decided to get some cocoa".
"How... How did you'a know that? Did you send the nightmare" Rahne asked with a wee bit a trepidation.
"No Rahne I did not send the nightmare, just a good guess. It may surprise you, but I don't consider it my mission in life to annoy or torment you. However I am tired of you calling me a witch. Sorceress yes, demon Sorceress sadly, but witch is just another way of saying the B word so please cut it out. We're don't have to be friends but we are teammates".
There was silence between the two for a minute or so, only the tired crackling of the embers could be heard.
"Ok, Ill'a try to not use the W word, but I don'ta like you" Rahne finally stated.
"Again something we have in common" Illyana replied with a tired grin, "I don't really like myself as well. Go to sleep Rahne and count your blessings. At least you get to leave your nightmares behind when you wake up. I'll clean up the mess, now shoo".
Rahne got up from the chair a bit puzzled. Evil incarnate was not supposed to be having nightmares and drink cocoa. "So what was your nightmare" she asked.
Illyana was silent for a few seconds and then hesitantly replied. "I dreamed of the last time I saw an old friend, it didn't end well".
Illyana said no more. After a few seconds Rahne left the den and went back to her room. She paused briefly at the top of the staircase and again went half wolf. She sniffed the air with some disbelief "I smell tears". She strained with her hearing and heard a faint sob,
"Cat, I'm so sorry".
"Must have been a dream of her pet when she was little one" Rahne thought as she went back to her room and returned to bed.
Unheard was Illyana's last sniffle, "Sorry I had to kill you".
Author's note: Cat here is Shadow Cat from the limited series Storm and Illyana (1-4).