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Wolf woke up from her nightmare, tears running down her cheeks. She looked around her room, finding no signs of her former pack. Her body was shaking, and she protectively wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt of comforting herself.
Before she met Kipo, she would force herself to go back to sleep, or practice her fighting until she tired herself out. Now, though, she had her parents sleeping next door.
She knew that they would care for her if she asked, but that didn't mean that she wasn't nervous. She had never woken her parents up after a nightmare before.
Wolf chewed on her nails, wondering if she was going to wake her parents up after something as stupid as a nightmare. She had them all the time, although this one had been a particularly scary one.
When she couldn't return to sleep, unable to stop seeing the wolves whenever she closed her eyes, she got out of her bed with a sigh, wiping the tears away from her cheeks, although new ones kept blinding her sight. She held onto the fabric of her nightgown as she made her way to her parents' bedroom.
The hallway was dark and quiet. Somewhere deep in her mind, she knew that she was safe and that nobody could break into the house, but her nightmare-clouded mind wouldn't let her thing rationally.
She bit back a sob as she laid her eyes on her parents sleeping peacefully, unaware of the battle that Wolf was fighting in her mind. She made her way up to the bed, sniffling as she shook her dad awake.
He grumbled, squinting his eyes open. When he saw Wolf's tearfilled expression, his sleepy face turned into one of worry.
"Oh, sweetie. What happened?" he asked, opening his arms as an invitation.
Wolf took it without a second thought.
Lio wrapped his arms around her, letting her bury her wet face in his neck. He ran a hand over her fluffy hair before he gently wiped away the tears with his thumb.
Wolf sobbed into his neck, desperately holding onto his shirt as tight as she could. Lio frowned.
"What's wrong, Wolf?"
"B-bad d-dream," she managed to croak out, refusing to look at him in case he was mad at being woken up in the middle of the night to deal with her issues.
Instead, he only held her tighter, kissing her forehead as he rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry, honey. That must have been really scary, hm?"
Wolf could do nothing but nod.
Lio kept holding her, rocking back and forth with her just like he used to do with Kipo when she was little. He was proud of Wolf for waking him up. It meant that she was progressing and putting more trust in him. He swore to himself to never let her down.
As Wolf's tears subsided, she continued to let him hold her, craving the comfort that she hadn't let herself have for years.
She snuggled into him, resting her head on his collarbone. With Wolf feeling more calm, Lio began to hum under his breath. Music always soothed Kipo when she was stressed, and he hoped that it would have the same effect on Wolf.
And just like he had anticipated, it worked. Wolf's eyes fluttered tiredly, and she struggled to keep herself awake.. She really didn't want to have another nightmare, and staying awake was sure to ensure that.
"Go to sleep. I'll stay with you, okay? You're not alone baby," Lio cooed as he continued to rock and hum.
And just like that, Wolf's eyes fluttered shut and her breathing slowed down, letting Lio know that she was asleep. He sighed of relief, holding her close to him as he liad back down on the bed with his youngest child in his arms.
He would let Wolf sleep in the bed with him and Song for the night, feeling bad in case he would put her back in her bedroom. She needed comfort, and he was more than ready to give it to her.
He kissed her cheek before closing his eyes, letting sleep take him as well.