Chapter Text
Two days out of Zidash, Molly had a bad dream.
Nott was on watch, crouched on the branch of a tree overlooking the party camp when a sudden whimper caught her ear. She pulled her eyes away from the plains and looked down. Mollymauk was shifting uncomfortably on his bedroll, now and then emitting some small noise of distress.
Nott swung herself lightly to the ground and padded over. Molly’s eyes were closed, but he was kicking hard against his blanket and his face was screwed up in distress.
“Molly?”
Before Nott could get any further than that nervous whisper, a firm hand descended on her shoulder and pushed her gently aside. Yasha stepped forward, a finger on her lips to quiet Nott’s instinctive squawk, and crouched down beside Molly.
“He’s dreaming.” She whispered. “I’ll take care of it.”
“How?”
Yasha raised her finger again, and Nott obediently closed her mouth. She scooted closer, however, watching Yasha closely. Yasha sighed, and reached forward to lay a hand on Molly’s forehead.
“Shhh. Molly, it’s alright.”
Molly’s body tensed at her touch and stayed that way, taut but still. Yasha carried on talking, not varying her tone in the slightest.
“It’s alright. You’re here. You’re Molly. It’s real.”
Molly moaned quietly, slowly unstiffening under her hand. He opened his eyes halfway, still mostly asleep, and mumbled:
“Yasha?”
“Yeah.”
Now that he was being more co-operative, Yasha slid an arm under Molly’s back and scooped him up so that his head rested on her chest.
“I’m here.”
“Me too?”
The question sounded like it had come from a frightened child. Yasha started to stroke his hair.
“Yes. You’re here.”
Silence fell. Nott listened as Molly’s shallow, anxious breaths gradually fell into step with the steady rise and fall of Yasha’s chest. Not long afterwards, the tiefling started to snore.
Once she was certain he was sleeping, Yasha laid Molly carefully back down on his bedroll and tucked him in.
“You still here?”
Nott shrank back. “Shouldn’t I be?”
“Nah, it’s alright.”
“Is he alright?” Nott wanted to know. “You looked like you were more worried than I get when Caleb has nightmares.”
“Did I?” Yasha shrugged and sat back. “Sometimes he dreams that he’s somebody else. And sometimes it’s hard for him to wake up from that. So I try and help him out. That’s all.”
“When you say somebody else…” Nott tilted her head inquisitively. “You mean he dreams about his past? About the person he used to be?”
“I’ve never asked.”
“Oh.” Nott’s ears wilted slightly. “You circus people really don’t go in for questions, huh?”
“I really don’t.”
“Right.”
They sat in awkward silence for a while, before Yasha stood up, her sudden loom startling the little goblin.
“I’m going back to bed.” She announced. Only two steps towards her place later, she turned back.
“Hey, Nott?”
“Yes?”
“I’m usually pretty good at catching these things, but… if anything happens while I’m away-”
“You’re going somewhere?”
“No! Well, not now. Not anytime soon. But you know how things are.”
Nott frowned. “You mean how you keep vanishing in the middle of the night?”
If Yasha noticed the sarcasm, she didn’t show it. “Yeah. If that happens, and Molly has a rough night, you should know what to do.”
“I thought it wasn’t that bad?” Nott pointed out, but relented almost instantaneously. “Sorry, I’m listening. Do I have to do the… the cuddling?”
Yasha actually smiled. “Not if you don’t want to. Might freak Molly out as well, he’s not as used to you. Just… talk to him. Use his name a lot. Help him remember where he is and who he’s with, that kind of thing. He needs a little extra help coming back down to reality, you know?”
“I… guess so?” Nott scratched behind her ears, waiting for Yasha to carry on. When that didn’t happen, she asked, “Wait, that’s it? Just talk? That’s all the instructions you thought you needed to give me just in case?”
“Guess you could have worked it out for yourself, huh?” Yasha stretched until her shoulders clicked. “Maybe so. Anyway… goodnight, Nott.”
“Goodnight, Yasha.”