Music: 'Nap Time In Shibuya' - Raimu


Vera lay splayed out on her emergency bedroll on a bench in the H.E.L.M. snoring and tucked under the fold of the grey, plastic-like covering. She hadn't managed to get a half-decent night's rest for weeks since her latest series of missions on Nessus, and the very thought of hauling her groggy Awoken ass back to the city and through the streets to her flat felt nothing short of laughable. As soon as she'd arrived at the H.E.L.M. with her fireteam to split their loot and part ways, she knew she was in no condition to fly.

She had been out cold for a few hours before a voice started echoing in her subconscious.

"Vera?"

Vera scrunched her nose in her sleep, rolling over in response to the strange noise calling her name from beyond the sleep.

"Vera, please wake up."

The voice was insistent - full of concern.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly to see the burgundy shell of Crow's ghost hovering in front of her.

"Glint?" Vera rubbed her eyes as she slowly sat up, letting the top half of her bedroll crinkle down to her hips to reveal her in a simple white tank top and slate gray sweatpants. "What is it? Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry to wake you up, it's just-" he was speaking in a hushed, hurried tone, twitching from one side to the other. "It's Crow."

"Crow?" Vera frowned, swinging her legs around the side of her cot to set her bare feet on the ground. "Is he alright?"

"Well, he has... nightmares. That's normal for him, but usually, I just wake him up." Glint cast his eye down to the ground and shook from side to side. "This time, I can't seem to snap him out of it - he won't wake up. He's all wrapped up in this one, and I'm getting worried."

"Take me to him." Vera pulled herself to her feet and followed Glint around the corridors of the H.E.L.M. to where Crow had clearly fashioned a makeshift cot for himself in a small room tucked out of the way. Vera suspected it had once been a closet for janitorial use.

Sure enough, Crow was there, tucked under tattered covers that weren't quite long enough to cover his feet, head resting on his folded up hunter's cape.

"Crow?" Vera called softly, awkwardly taking a few steps closer. There was no response. As she got closer to the side of his cot, she noticed he was sweating, his breathing ragged and nearly laboured. He tossed and turned, his face contorting as if he were experiencing some manner of agony. Vera tried to call out again. "Crow, wake up. You're only dreaming."

Still nothing. Glint let out a small series of electric chatters and chirps.

"Come on, Crow." Vera reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. "Snap out of it!"

To her shock, Crow's hand snapped up to grasp her arm, yanking her off her feet and onto her back on the other side of the cot. Before she could blink, he was on top of her, panting with his knife to her throat, his other hand clasped around her wrists, holding her arms over her head.

"Whoa, hey! Crow!" Vera raised her voice in alarm. "It's me!"

Crow's glowing harvest moon eyes snapped open, pupils dilated, chest heaving. At first, his vision was dark and blurred, not allowing him to fully comprehend what was in front of him. In this moment, he felt the familiar fight-or-flight panic in his bones; a them-or-me type of fear that had become as close to home as he'd known ever since Glint had brought him into this life.

"Crow! Stop!" Glint's voice cut through his panic as he flashed in front of him in one frantic movement.

"What...?" Crow breathed, brow furrowed in confusion. As he looked down to the figure pinned beneath him, his vision came into focus to reveal the Awoken huntress, a pinprick trickle of blood from her neck at the tip of his blade. She looked up at him with wide, pale moonlight-coloured eyes, lavender lips parted as she regarded him with intermingling fear and concern.

As if his dagger were suddenly coated in molten lava, he flung the blade to the ground with a gasp and released Vera's wrists, palms up in surrender.

"Vera! I-" Crow stammered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I-I thought -"

"Hey, no harm done." Vera smiled at him, trying (and failing) to ease his guilt with a joke and a crooked grin. "As far as I can tell, I still have all nine of my limbs."

Crow frowned, clearly not amused at Vera's attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

"Vera, you shouldn't shrug this off," he sighed. "I almost killed you. Do you realize that?"

"Do you realize it wouldn't have mattered?" Vera rolled her eyes. "You're not the only guardian here, you know. We live, we die, we come back - rinse and repeat; it's what we do. It's the circle of Light and all that-"

"But you would have had to do so at my hand!" Crow snapped. "I've had to resurrect more times than I can count because of... other guardians."

Crow averted his eyes, remembering the multitude of times a disgruntled guardian had taken out their unending hatred for Uldren out on him - usually in the form of a bullet to the head.

"Crow, stop." Vera gently placed her hands on his cheeks, her expression serious and determined. "I know you. When you get like this, you tend to spiral. You're far too hard on yourself as it is."

"One of us should be..." Crow replied, almost too quietly for Vera to hear.

She sighed and pursed her lips, grasping Crow's chest by the fabric of his shirt and yanking him down into her arms, his head tucked into the crook of her neck.

"Wh-what are you-"

"Hush." Vera ran her fingers through his hair, feeling the tension in his shoulders begin to relax. "There's no talking to you when you're like this, and you clearly haven't gotten a full night's rest in who knows how long - frankly, neither have I. So, sleep. We can talk this out in the morning."

"What if I try to hurt you again?" Crow whispered, cheeks warm with embarrassment to Vera's intimately close proximity. "What if I just have another nightmare?"

"Then I'll be here to chase them away for you." Vera rested her chin on top of Crow's head, gently pulling the covers up to his shoulders. "You're my friend, Crow. You won't hurt me. And I'm not going anywhere."

Glint hovered nearby, drifting idly in relief. Vera gave him a nod, allowing him to tuck himself away for the night.

Humming a simple melody softly under her breath, she felt Crow's heartbeat return to normal, and his breathing slowed as he drifted back to a dreamless sleep not long before she followed.