paradisalogs | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who; Ino (

ino) and Gale (

fanstheflame).
What; Nightmares suck :(
Where; Out in the Dead Zone, on the expedition.
When; Tonight.
Rating; ... PG-13 at most? I THINK?

Before the first night they'd camped out, Ino had been a little reluctant to share a tent. Naturally, it had nothing to do with the other potential occupant -- only her own issues, her own fear of waking up alone that made her hesitate. It was with a tremendous amount of effort before the trip that she'd coached herself silently to not think about it, to let it happen, to enjoy the time she had.

Funny, then, how easily she fell into the routine of falling asleep in a certain someone's arms. After a year and some of sleeping alone, it was a welcome change to have someone next to her, to listen to their heartbeat and let it lull her into a comfortable sleep. She'd even taken to removing all her weapons before she got under the blanket at night -- something that might have seemed like an obvious step, but really, it was a sign of how much she trusted him. (Of course, she still kept them nearby -- it'd be just plain stupid not to have them within reach when danger could find them at any moment.)

But it surprised even her how quickly she fell asleep with him holding her. There was something safe, something comforting about knowing he was there. But even Gale's (really really nice, toned, muscular ... okay, we're getting off topic here) arms couldn't ward off the nightmares that sometimes plagued her sleep. After years of living in the castle, Ino had racked up quite the list of traumatizing mental pictures and scenes that lurked quietly in the back of her mind. The Eclipse. Mundus. Bakura's Shadow Game. Shikamaru being crushed by a monster. Sakura's lifeless body in the hallway.

It's not much of a surprise, really, when the images become too much for her, and she awakes with a jolt. She manages not to scream, either out of consideration or out of pride, but she does violently shove Gale's arm out of the way to sit up, trembling and breathing hard as she tries to collect herself.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hmm ... she does like that a little better. She's silent for a moment, before she scoots a little closer to tuck her head under his chin.

"... Thanks."

"Tell you what," he murmurs, trying not to bash her head with his chin as he talks. "It can mean 'boar' in your home language and 'bird' in Panem. Then you're strong and ladylike."

That just gets a little amused scoff -- mostly because she's imagining flying pigs now, but also because he's trying so hard to make her feel better about it. But she really does appreciate it, so she'll press a kiss to his neck.

"I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad we're both here." He sighs, settling back against the pillows. "... You should try and get back to sleep..."

"You, too," she agreed, letting a hand run over his arm and settle on his shoulder. It was amazing how much calmer and more relaxed she was already, thanks to the conversation with him being so distracting. "Okay?"

"Okay." He stifled a yawn, pulling the blankets back up over them. "No more nightmares, this time, alright?"

She was trying to avoid the use of the word nightmares -- it sounded so silly, after all -- but when he says that, she realizes that Gale is very good at that. Taking something that she doesn't want to talk about -- that she's trained not to talk about -- and bringing it out into the open, making it maybe not so bad after all.

So instead of her getting defensive or irritated, he'll just get a little breath of amusement against his skin as she moves to adjust the blankets. "No more, I promise."

Honestly, he's always thought calling them "bad dreams" was worse - it made them sound childish, simplified - the sort of thing that you should be ashamed of having. But he knows that they're nothing childish, at all - especially when you're not a child anymore, and know what it really is to be scared, that if something happens, you have to protect yourself. Nightmare, now, that's a much weightier word, it gives them the gravity that they usually have.

"Okay, good." With that, he reaches out and puts an arm around her, settling in before giving her a kiss.

"'Night. ... Again."

She'll just kiss him back, letting out a little giggle at the 'again' as she curls up next to him again.

"'Night, Gale."

And funnily enough, when she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and relaxes -- it takes her almost no time at all to fall back asleep.

He stays awake long enough to make sure she sleeps, and then it's just a matter of listening to the wind through the grass and trees, and the sound of her breathing. A few moments later, he's out, too, the last few threads of their conversation running through his head as he falls asleep.

Maybe Ino could be Seam for "bird".

He starts to hear them, in his sleep: the birds he hasn't seen or heard in months. Cardinals, finches, sparrows, jays - blue and mocking. Their songs speak of clear blue skies and the bright green color of light through the leaves, and soon enough he's walking through the forest, his old hunting bag slung over his shoulder as he picks his way through the underbrush. There's a strip of birch bark hanging off a branch, near eye level, and curiously, he picks it off. In his hands, it turns to a thin slip of paper, with his name written on it in tiny black type ... and he knows what it means. That he'll have to fight, that he'll end up warped and changed and colder, like Katniss ... and he knows he has to run.

As he runs, the birds get louder, the mockingjays' songs drowning out the others, some tune in a minor key that only makes his heart hammer harder. He steps on a patch of moss, springy, and soft, and it gives way under his feet. For the briefest moment, he thinks he's already in an arena, that this is a trap, that any moment a career will come to kill him --

-- but he lands hard, hard on cold stone and rubble, and it's dark. Dark, and close, and hot, and there's the unmistakable smell of lantern oil and dirt and sweat.

Somewhere, far off down the mining tunnel, a canary sings.

He gets to his feet, stiffly, surprised and yet not to find that there are suddenly bulky miner's gloves on his hands, a pick at his hip. Time to work, time to dig, time to swallow everything down and keep moving. He heads toward the sound of the canary, knowing it means safe air, a place where he can at least try to work without the feeling of the tunnel pressing down on him.

The farther he goes, the stranger the tunnel gets, and the closer it becomes. Soon he's only just barely got enough width to maneuver in, and he has to duck, crouching. He puts his hand to the tunnel wall, and is surprised to feel that it's made of stone - smooth, uniform blocks of it. In his horror, he realizes two things: one, the tunnel's turned to castle walls.

Two: the canary stopped singing.

He jerks awake. To his credit, he doesn't scream.

Being a ninja, and considering where they are, it's not hard for her to wake up immediately when he moves so sharply. Her first instinct is to reach for a knife laying off to the side, but one quick look around reveals that there's no threat to be had. She stays still, listening for a moment, just in case. But there's nothing.

She'll let the knife stay where it is, bringing her arm back to his shoulder. 'No more nightmares', he'd said, but it looked like the same hadn't applied to him. She doesn't feel she needs to talk just yet, though -- if he wants to talk, he will. Instead, she just moves the hand on his shoulder to his neck, his cheek, in a more conscious movement. She'll press a soft kiss to his collarbone, too, in a silent declaration not too far from what she'd said to him when he arrived -- Wherever you were, it's not here. You're here with me, now.

His eyes are wide as he searches the tent, even in the darkness, looking for any sign that it wasn't real - that it really was just a dream, that he's not trapped and alone. When she touches him, it's like a bucket of cold water dropped on his head. As quickly as the fear came on him, it's gone, and he reaches up to put his hand to her hair and hold her close against his chest.

"... Thank you."

She's glad when she feels him relax a little. She shifts a little when he pulls her close, resting her forehead against his chest, and moves her fingers to run through the ends of his hair gently. Hopefully, it'll be reassuring enough to let him relax properly again.

"You okay?"

"I ..." He sighs, forcing himself to remember how to breathe properly. It takes all his focus for a moment or two, to keep his heart from feeling like it's going to jump out of his chest.

"Yeah. I ... I will be."

"Good."

A little wry smile appears on her face, though he can't see it. She'll just keep running her fingers through his hair for a few moments, silent, before she speaks up again.

"We can't even get a full night of sleep between us, huh ..." It's kind of sad, in reality, but it's said with a touch of humor.

"Yeah ..." He sighs, vaguely amused. "It's okay, though, we've got a lot of trip still ahead of us. Maybe we just need to get used to things."

She decides not to mention that having these kinds of nightmares isn't entirely uncommon for her, at least, no matter where she's sleeping. She figures if he sticks around, he'll figure it out.

If he sticks around. Thinking that way is still a habit.

"Maybe," she'll agree, moving her hand from his hair, now, to cover his heart. She's silent for a moment, searching for a different topic. "What do you dream about, normally?"

Thankfully, he's no mind-reader, or he might not fall back asleep - he'd feel compelled to watch over her and make sure she was okay. "Me? Uh ... usually I don't remember them. But sometimes ... home. My family. Back before everything changed."

Sorry, Gale! Her life is secretly depressing sometimes. But she doesn't want to worry him, and he's the one who woke up from the nightmare this time, not her. So it's much more important to her that she distract him and help him get back to sleep.

The first part of his response gets a soft snort. "No, not you, the other guy who's sleeping right next to me." But there's a small smile at his actual answer -- it's pretty close to what she would have answered. Her dad, the shop, Konoha before it'd become a giant crater ...

Her joking earns a short 'hmh' of laughter, and he smiles a little, too. It's surprisingly easy to forget how scared he was, just now, when they're talking like this. Trading stories about home, reminding each other that the present isn't as bad as it could be compared with parts of their past ... it's why he loves her: they keep each other strong.

He sighs, then turns to kiss her, softly. "Come on. Let's ... try and get back to sleep."

"Yeah, I guess we should ..." She knows they've got a long day of walking ahead tomorrow, too, so it's a good suggestion. She'll roll onto her back for a moment, reaching behind her to make sure that knife she tried to pull earlier is out of the way, in case she rolls over in her sleep. (Hazards of being a ninja: Accidentally sleeping on your own weapons, oops.)

Once she's got that settled, she leans up to kiss him on the forehead before cuddling up to him again. "Sweet dreams, Gale."

Edited 2012-09-21 17:27 (UTC)

Considering how many times he's stayed out in the woods to track things or watch his traps, Ino would probably be surprised how much he'd probably understand that particular hazard. Right now, though, it's cozy in the tent, and they're safe, and the nightmares - well, even if they come back, for either of them, they'll be here for each other. It's a level of security that he's still amazed to have, even now.

"... You too, Ino."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only