It was dangerous for Kat and Raven to get nightmares. Most people just flailed or tossed and turned, then woke up in a cold sweat. After a few days, it never happened. But when Raven or Kat had a nightmare, buildings could collapse. And the pair lead very stressful lives.
Raven answered her door curious as to who it could be at this hour. The sun was just barely above the horizon, and all the normal people in the city would be retiring for the night.
So when she saw Kat at her door, she really shouldn't have been surprised.
"Kat. What's up?" Raven asked, concerned that her friend wasn't getting ready for bed herself.
"How do you do it Raven?" Kat asked, the tired, defeated tone to her voice now seriously worrying Raven. The blonde Shifter was always happy and smiling. Something was seriously wrong.
"Come in, and tell me what you mean." Raven said, opening the door wider so Kat could enter.
She didn't move to the living room, instead turning to face Raven in the entryway. "How do you sleep at night?"
Raven, shocked at such an accusation, only replied with "Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me. The nightmares. How do you stop them?"
Raven understood, but Kat kept talking.
"Because I've tried everything. Warm milk, a fly around town, I even bought a teddy bear and slept with that for a while. Nothing works. Whenever I go to sleep, there are Nevi everywhere, killing everyone, destroying the town, and I can't stop them, and everyone is looking at me, and they're screaming 'Save us! Why won't you save us?' but I can't move, something is holding me back, and I have to watch as-"
She had been crying, and at this point she broke down into active sobs.
Raven quickly took the blonde in her arms and rubbed her back as she whispered anything she could possibly think of to comfort her.
As Kat's tears ran dry, she looked back up at Raven and simply whispered "Help me."
Raven's heart was now officially all over the floor in a million pieces. If all of Kat's sadness had been directed at a person, she would have hunted them down and turned them into an organic matter soup.
But Kat's sadness was not with a person, but with her fate.
And fate cannot be beaten with fists.
Only with friends.
"Come with me." Raven said gently, and carefully led Kat to her bedroom.
"Sleep here tonight." Raven said.
"What?" Kat replied, not necessarily assuming the worst, but it certainly jumped to mind.
"Not like that." Raven said, throwing all caution to the wind and continuing with "Just let me hold you tonight, and I promise you won't have nightmares."
Kat looked dubious. "Promise?"
"On my life." Raven replied, not a shred of humor in her voice.
Kat took her up on the offer, and Raven's promise held true.