Rating: K
Summary: Darren wakes up from a nightmare, to be comforted by his mentor. Oneshot fluff.
Notes: anyone need a beta? Anyone wanna beta me?
I wake up with a start, a cold sheen of sweat covering my body. I gently wipe my brow and raise my body up on my elbows to look around at my friends. To my far left, I see Evanna sleeping quietly. Slightly nearer to me, my fellow prince, Vancha, curled up on his side, snoring loudly. Sometimes I wonder how any of us can sleep with such noise.
I glance to my right and see Harkat, sleeping slightly fitfully, with an occasional whimper, but nowhere nearly as bad as some of the days he is asleep. Slightly closer to me, wrapped up in his cloak, is my mentor, sleeping soundly and I suspect dreaming of Arra. I focus on his face and the sounds around me, trying to slow my heart rate.
My senses are sharpened from yet another nightmare and I spin around as I hear leaves rustle behind me. I glare at the squirrel that poked his nose out from under the bush. A second shock came when I heard more rustling to my right. My head turned to the source of the noise and I heaved a sigh as I watch Vancha grunt and turn over in his sleep.
I sit up gently and take in my surroundings. We are in the shade of some thick trees that effectively block out the sun and, from what little sky I can see through the leaves, it is a cloudy day. The ground we lay on is covered with soft grass, which makes it easier on my back. I lower myself back down to my elbows, my body cooling off and my heart rate returning to normal, only to almost jump out of my skin at the sound of my mentor's voice.
"Darren, what is wrong?" Mr. Crepsley asks sleepily, sitting up slightly while still trying to keep himself protected from the weak sun with his cloak. "You should be sleeping; we still have quite a way to go." His eyes, though glazed over with fatigue, showed concern for me.
"Um… nothing," I answer nervously, "just a dream…" I trail off and hang my head slightly, embarrassed about being scared by my own imagination.
"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked kindly, even though I could easily tell he wanted to go back to sleep, even if he was too stubborn to say it.
"No, thanks. I'm okay." I mutter, turning over to go back to sleep. "Night, Mr Crepsley," I whisper as I settle back down to sleep.
He is still for a while longer, before I hear him move to lie back down to get some more rest.
As I close my eyes, I feel a strong arm wrap around me. I sigh softly and move backwards into his chest, all thoughts of my dream forgotten.
It's times like this that I love my nightmares.