I absolutely love Donbalon!! What a sweetheart. They don't get much love from the fandom, do they?
The characters present/mentioned in this are Donbalon, a Visitor, Owl, NiGHTS,
Donbalon meets a Visitor who doesn't fear them.
Childish laughter reverberated off of the enormous trees, as a Visitor no more than twelve ran through the rolling hills of her Nightopia. She was running around aimlessly, enjoying the freedom in the vast landscape. It seemed to stretch on and on. The girl was curious, she wanted to see how far she could go. She wasn't ever granted this much freedom in the Waking World.
The old gatekeeper had told her all the do's and not to do's for the Dream World, for a certain jester was a bit sidetracked. The Visitor was collecting blue chips as told, to ward off any nightmaren who decided to approach and attempt a grab at her Ideya. She hadn't spotted any currently, but figured it best to keep some on hand as she played.
"If you feel you are threatened", the bird lectured, as the Dreamer made her way over to the first door, lit up by the Ideya of Purity. "Grab ahold of these." He gestured to various blue balls scattered throughout the Dream Gate. "They are called Blue Chips. Throw them at any nightmaren and they should do the trick, hoo. However, do not harm the Nightopians, dear child. I wish you the best of luck."
Don't harm the Nightopians. Why would she? They were the most adorable creatures she'd seen! Their round, yet pointed faces that resembled babies, giant blue eyes that sparked in the sun, little pink wings on their back that fluttered occasionally as they sang and played with each other. The Nightopians truly were magical. She could spend hours watching them, but then again, why waste time here? There was so much for her to explore.
The Visitor looked around, noticing how deserted the Nightopia had gotten. "Where did the little fairies go?" She muttered to herself, brushing her long, curly hair out of her face. She, lovingly, dubbed the inhabitants as fairies. They didn't seem to mind, they just kept babbling on like infants. That was when she noticed how dark the Dream turned. It was deathly silent, no chirping birds or singing fairies, no noise what-so-ever. It was eerie, the large plants that enclosed the area becoming more frightening, unlike the gorgeous scenery they made it appear as a few minutes ago. Paranoia started to spark in the bottom of her stomach, as she tightly clutched onto the Blue Chips. They'd keep her safe, right? Owl said they'd work. . .
Of course they'd work. She trusted the old timer, despite meeting him only an hour before. He seemed too mature and kind to trick her. He was even willing to aide her if she needed it, all she had to do was go to a perch in the area.
That was when she heard it. The most terrifying laughter rang through her head, making her feel as if she was spinning. A nauseating feeling rushed through her body, as fear gnawed it's way into her heart. The Visitor had no doubts, now. It was a nightmaren. She needed to guard her Ideya, like Owl said.
"Show yourself! I'm not afraid of you!" Her voice faltered at the end, but she took on a defensive stance, ready to chuck the chips at anything that made a slight movement. "I have a weapon!" Her brown orbs scanned the area closely, yet the darkness rendered it hard to see. The large, beautiful trees that shadowed the wondrous Nightopia didn't help.
"Those won't work on me, silly Visitor!" A fluttery voice called out, "I'm no pathetic third level." The culprit revealed himself from behind the many bushes. The Visitor gasped in surprise, pressing a hand against her mouth.
The nightmaren resembled a clown and. . . a ball? He had three blue jester horns adorned at the end with tiny bells, along with red feathers decorated along where his neck would be. A pink diamond sat in the middle of his forehead, where the hat bowed down along the bridge of his nose. The rest of his body was. . .
Donbalon bounced along near the tiny Dreamer, as she stared agape at the second level nightmaren. A small squeal was heard from her, but not of fear. Her eyes shone with excitement and a wide smile edged it's way to her face.
"You're so adorable!" She gushed, watching the clown with interest and amazement. Donbalon could only stare back in awe, attempting to stutter out a response. Nothing would come forth. This had never happened to him before. He's been called other things, but never once adorable. In fact, he once heard the other nightmaren say his design was the most terrifying of all the beings Lord Wizeman had created. Yet, this Visitor, this little girl, dares to call him adorable? He knew he should feel insulted, but. . . something fluttered in his chest when she said that. Why was he flattered?
"I- What?" He looked at the tiny Dreamer like she had two heads. She could only smile back, more happy than ever. "You're adorable!"
"I don't. . . scare you?" He let out a confused whine. The nightmaren felt conflicted with himself, this was a strike right towards his ego. How could he be a nightmaren if he wasn't scary? This had never happened to any of them - Donbalon was certain.
"No." She shook her head lightly, her hair bouncing with her every move, "all my friends would be shaking in their boots, but not me! You look amazing." Her voice showed true sincerity, a small smile plastered on her face. It was so contagious, Donbalon couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm Donbalon." He said curtly, nodding his towards the girl. Perhaps, this was his chance to have a friend. That's all he really wanted. Nightmarens don't make good friends - they never really showed interest in the desire to have them, and disregarded Donbalon. He tried everything, from jokes to gifts, yet they only poked fun at his futile attempts. The Visitor looked up at him, holding her hand out. "I'm Karma! It's nice to meet you, Donbalon!"
The two spent the rest of the time playing together. No other nightmaren had bothered them, which was good. No one had to think he was turning traitorous, after all, he was just playing. The 'maren couldn't find the will to take Karma's Ideya, so he left it be when she woke up.
Donbalon returned to Castle Nightmare in a significantly better mood, with the required amount of Ideya. 'This must've been why NiGHTS rebelled', he thought to himself silently, 'how brave. . . Zir rank saves zir from being completely crushed on site, even as a traitor. If one of us Second-Levels tried, we'd be destroyed immediately.' It was a sad thought.
Things would be fine like this. He didn't have to tell anyone about Karma. It was his secret.