Post Episode 6. Blitzø is having a nightmare.

Years ago, Stolas Goetia had been often woken up by Octavia whenever she had a nightmare, with time he got used to it and became less surprised when the little owlet appeared next to his bed in the middle of the night from time to time, however his daughter grew up and he could start sleeping... well, more fondly than before (as much as sleeping alone or with Stella could be called as such). But then the prince met his Blitzy and travelling into the dreamscape with him started being a pure pleasure. It had been like that for several months, so a sudden and loud 'NO' was something what Stolas had never expected to hear.

The owl demon opened a one pair of his eyes, at first he didn't notice anything out of place in his master bedroom. It was still dark and the hell sun didn't intend to raise any time soon, plus his favourite imp was next to him. All was fine. He could go back to the dreamscape again... no, he couldn't. Stolas blinked and focused more closely on Blitzø. Yes, the lovely assassin was nearby, but he certainly wasn't sleeping. The red creature was sitting up and breathing heavily. What's more, he seemed to be trembling like a little leaf in the stormy weather.

"Blitzy?" the prince scooped closer.

The imp screamed as if burned by Goetia's mere presence and moved out from his reach, then in the result - fell from the bed on the stone floor, taking the cover with himself. Briefly, Stolas register that Blitzø was touching his neck and wrists, as if trying to check... if something was bounding him? With a horrified understanding, the owl demon realised that the 'NO', which woke him up a moment ago, came actually from the small hell creature. Moreover the imp looked utterly terrified, which made the prince even more worried. He had often seen his Blitzy as being frustrated, smug or bored (sometimes even sad), but never like that.

"Fuck..." the assassin cursed, when he managed to untangle himself from the blanket and to Stolas' relief sounded more like himself than the poor image from seconds ago. "...it was only a dream..."

Goetia quickly joined Blitzø on the floor to check if he wasn't hurt, but the imp once again moved further away from the demon. In any other situation, Stolas would insist on pressuring to know what had happened, but one glance at Blitzø's haunted face forced the owl demon to stop and just sit quietly next to him. The prince heard another F-word being spoken, then a couple of others, in the end the imp only took the fallen blanket and covered himself by it, completely hiding his whole body from the world.

What for? Goetia wondered. The chamber was barely illuminated by the hell moon and was semi-dark, but the prince could see everything just like in the daylight (he was an owl after all), including tears on the small creature's cheeks. Wait... that was the reason.

"Oh, Blitzy, if I knew that you would be so distressed, I would made those dreadful humans to peel off their own skin." he tentatively put his hand on his lover's head, but the imp shrugged it off himself.

"I'M FINE!"

"The incident with agents was a few days ago," Stolas started slowly. (It was only his luck that the full moon night was close by and he could enjoy Blitzø's company twice in the short time.) "have you been having those nightmares since then?"

"It's this fucking gas... it should have already wore off..."

"We don't know what exactly that was, basing on what you and your colleague said, the effect was incredibly strong." the owl demon stated gently. "You may need to wait a few days more."

Goetia wanted to ask if Blitzø's employee also had problems with sleeping, but in the last moment he held his tong. The prince somehow doubted that it would be wise to mention that.

"...fucking great... nightmare horror movies have never been my favourite... (not enough horses in them)..."

"Blitzy... even if your organism would be clean, this gas made you experience something, what seems to leave a more permanent mark on your mind. Something what wouldn't be so easily erased."

He was praying for a snarky comment from the assassin's side, but when none came, Stolas knew that he found the cause of Blitzø's distress.

"...don't you have some spells prepared for such shitty situations?" the imp questioned.

"There are some." Goetia answered carefully, but then quickly added before the trembling creature could speak. "It can help in a short run, however it wouldn't make the fear to go away forever."

Silence.

"Would you like to tell me about your dream?"

Again - silence, Stolas was only mildly surprised, but the pain in his chest was a meaningful one. Their relation was far from normal, if Blitzø didn't trust him enough to tell him about the nightmare, it was the prince who was the guilty one. He shouldn't have pushed for a transactional form of intimacy in the beginning and he should have made some rational effort to change it later, if he had wanted to be seen by the imp as someone more than a business partner (Was it even a good description?).

"Is there someone, whom you could tell about it?"

Speaking aloud about what scared a person the most could help. Especially that sometimes even a knowledge that there was a person eager to listen could do miracles.

"...maybe."

"Please do it, Blitzy, keeping it buried deep down will only make matters worse." Stolas pleaded. "I wouldn't like to see you in such state again. I'm sure that your daughter and friends would be worried as well."

There was another pause, but at least the imp stopped trembling.

"Can I help you in any way?" the prince asked quietly.

He really want to support his sweet assassin, he wouldn't even object to cast a calming spell, which he had discourage a minute ago, only to give Blitzø a moment of peace.

Finally, the imp under a blanket moved and after a few seconds, curled himself on Stolas' knees. He also didn't fuss when the owl demon put his arms around him.

The floor was cold and the position, in which the prince was sitting, was hardly comfortable, but he didn't regret. His Blitzy was feeling better now and whatever scared the imp in his dream, Stolas vowed to help him fight it as much as he could.