Sometimes Ib would have dreams that she couldn't exactly remember in the morning, but would leave her drenched in sweat and an impression that would make her curl beneath the blankets and try to convince herself that there was nothing there; tonight was one of those nights. Shadows seemed to dance along the walls in the darkness arching over her dresser and swooping close to her bed. Ib closed her eyes and sank further into the large bed. Stuffed animals piled high like walls trying to protect their queen. Her fingers dug into the large comforter and pulled the blanket up to her nose.

'Nothing there, nothing there, nothing there,' she repeated in her head trying to calm her nerves. Suddenly she could hear something move along the floor like quiet footsteps that circled the bed. Clenching her eyes tighter and letting out a shuddering breath she focused on the footsteps that dragged themselves along the floor. It's all she can hear in the quiet of the night, her breaths swallowed in the blankets. Slow scratching closer to the foot of her bed now. Her breaths quicken and her heart hammers loudly in the quiet. As if hearing the noise the slow dragging quickened pulling nearer to the head of the bed.

'There is no one there, there is no one there, there is no one there,' she repeated in her head clinging to the hope they gave. As if her thoughts spurred away the monster a thick silence rolled in. Her heart beat quieted and she let out a content sigh. Slowly her mind drifted to tomorrow's plan and she fell back to sleep. Her quiet breaths broke the silence as she shifted and fell into a peaceful sleep. Her whole body relaxed, fingers letting go of the blanket, head sinking into her pillow brown hair splayed.

Unbeknownst to her golden sand began to trickle in through her window. It gave off a small glow as it snaked its way through the air and settled over her head. She sank even deeper into sleep a small smile on her lips. The sand shifted and morphed to her holding hands with a girl her age with a dress that rippled with their movements. They were running around and smiling and laughing in endless circles around a man. He had to be in his early twenties and he gave a small smile watching as the girls ran around.

"Adorable, another happy dream," someone cooed his voice echoing around the room. Shadows arched up beneath the bed and swathed a man. He was incredibly tall and thin with gray skin and slicked black hair. Golden irises glowed in the room, the only other light in the darkness. The soft golden glow of the sand illuminated his face as he leaned forward to inspect the dream. He had sharp features and even sharper teeth that showed when his face split in a grin. Long spindly fingers rose lazily and trailed behind the running girls, without warning he stabbed the girl in the dress in the chest, the girl in the dress and the sand slowly darkened turning black.

The girl yanked her hand away from the dream Ib and pulled out a pallet knife. The dream man slumped backwards into a sitting position and lay lifeless. The dream Ib looked frantically between the two and backed away from the girl who held the knife with the poise of a killer, the real Ib shuddered in her bed. The man watched for a moment more to see the girl leap forward and the blank sand to swirl up to waiting hands. A small nightmare reared galloping through the air. Holding the creature between his hands the man breathed a laugh.

"Get ready guardians, I'm coming for you… hmm?" he stopped talking and examined the nightmare in his hands. The black horse made of sand with eyes burning gold stared back at him letting out a small whine. "Based off a real experience?" The man gazed down to Ib who had shrunk in her bed shaking at the nightmare. He could tell when nightmares were based off real events, fears, worries, or your imagination and this little girl's dream of being chased by a crazed girl was real. Frowning slightly but ultimately shrugging it off the man let the shadows stretch along the room and swallow him whole leaving no trace that he was there to begin with.