Among the dreams he had witnessed before, this one was different. Similar to most, they were outside and the sky was overcast. A slight wind rustled the leafs of nearby trees and a few birds could be heard from somewhere in the distance. A rather typical sight for when Alana had semi control over her dreams. The big difference for this time? They were at a graveyard.

Rows upon rows of tomb stones lined the earth. While most had the typical cylinder shape there were a few more oddly shaped ones. Most of which looked to be in good condition but otherwise showed their age. As did the grass and flowers surrounding most of the stones. Of which either appeared overgrown or wilted and dead. A few, on the other hand, had fresh plucked flowers laying on the graves, indicating recent visitors. One of which hadn't yet left.

From beside him, Alana twitched, her face distorting as her eyes stared forwards. It didn't take Nightmare even a second to wonder at what as he saw it himself instantly. It was Alana, only a few years younger. Back pressed up against one of the tomb stones, the dream version of the young woman sobbed into her knees. Sobs of which, until now, couldn't be heard at all.

"This is... another memory?" Nightmare guessed, keeping his voice low as he kept his gaze forwards. Alana's frown deepened and, while she too did not look away, blinked.

"... Yeah." Her voice was also low and she brought a hand up to the locket around her neck. "This was the day after my brother's funeral."

Nightmare's lips tightened and his eye narrowed, just managing to make out the wording on the tombstone. At least what the younger dream girl wasn't covering. Kyle Greenburg. Shifting his gaze just a little, he spotted the two nearest the tomb also had names, all others either being blank or blurred.

"He was buried next to your parents." Not a question this time, but a statement. Clutching her necklace tight enough to leave an impression in her hand, Alana closed her eyes. A tear rolled down her face.

"Yes. It's what he wanted." And so did she. Of course that wasn't really possible now and the thought sent a wave of pain through her heart. For more reasons than one.

"You're still grieving. You probably never got a proper chance to let out your feelings in a healthy manner." The incubus turned his head back to the young woman. "Reminding yourself of these events isn't that. All you are doing is hurting yourself further."

"It's not like I want to keep thinking of this." Opening her eyes, Alana gestured her free arm in the direction of her younger self, whom remained obvious to their presence, and turned her gaze back to Nightmare. Several more tears rolled down her face.

"It's not like I like feeling this way. I-I just... I just."

"You just fear forgetting." Nightmare finished for her and Alana felt her heart clutch.

He was right. As much as she didn't want to be plagued with these memories she also didn't want to forget. To forget would mean she no longer cared, and she couldn't do that to her family. Upon hearing such thoughts Nightmare's frown softened and he shook his head.

"Forgetting will not mean you stop caring. I can tell how much you love your family and that will never go away. Do you think they'd want you to torture yourself like this?"

Alana grunted painfully, even more tears streaming down her face. It hurt. It hurt so much. He was right. Her family would likely give her an earful if they knew the extent of her thoughts and feelings on this matter. Which in of itself was bitterly amusing. Unable to stop herself, she sniffled and used her one hand to rub her eyes, which she turned to avoid looking at the man next to her. He sighed, a small but kind smile pulling at his lips.

"It is going to take time, but soon all of this will just be a distant memory in the back of your mind." Raising a hand, he waves it in the direction of the graveyard and the scenery fades as if it were made of smoke, returning them to the colorful void. With the same hand he affectionately touched the top of the young woman's head, ignoring her small flinch.

"And until then, feel free to rely on me." he offers and leans forwards, his kind smile growing just a bit. "I'll make sure no unwanted memories come through like this again."

I honestly can't tell why the HNKNA series came to mind again but as I've been thinking of my Orphan OC I tapped into her emotional state and wrote this small thing to show a bit more of her mindset. For those that followed my story, which I am heavily considering editing because of the heavy tell and now showing as well as the over details (don't know if it's because I am ADHD or Autistic in feeling I needed those details at the time) One of my original plans was for Alana to become friends with Nightmare, as he'd know the truth about her before anyone. She'd even consider him her closest friend. This is only one of few dreams he had witnessed from her since meeting. Including several memory based ones. They are considered friends at this point and she's comfortable enough around Nightmare to be honest and open up to him, though still doesn't like to have people see her cry