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It doesn’t take long for Shadow to realize what woke him up from his dreams, curled up against Vio’s side. He raises his head and rubs at an eye, waking up more than he wants to at the loud rumbling just outside. Drops of what he now knows is rain pound away at the house’s roof and window, but he doesn’t think the growling is rain.
“Um,” he whispers, glancing over at Vio in the darkness. He hates to wake him up, since he fought a lot to get Vio to sleep in the first place, but if there’s something wrong… Shadow reaches over and wraps a hand around Vio’s arm. “Vi? What’s that? Is it okay?”
Vio’s eyelids flicker, and he shifts. “What’s what?” he slurs.
Shadow waits another moment—light flashes outside, and then another loud sound passes above, close enough to make the windows rattle. He presses his lips together and holds onto Vio a little more tightly, his mind running away with all kinds of awful scenarios.
“Mm… That’s just thunder,” Vio says, rolling over. He lets Shadow keep ahold of him and mumbles the explanation. “Static in the clouds builds up until it shocks the ground, and the air moving really fast makes the sound. Called thunder.”
Shadow takes a second to comprehend that. “So it isn’t anything bad?”
“Mm-mm. Just a storm. I can show you a book about meteorology—” Vio sounds more awake now.
“No, no. If it’s just a storm, it’s just a storm. I believe you. Go back to sleep.” Shadow lays back down, still a bit tense.
Lightning lights up the room again, close, and Shadow winces. The thunder is loud.
Vio wraps an arm loosely over him and closes his eyes. “Nothing to be afraid of.”
“Okay.” He’ll try. In the meantime, the rain is nice, and so is laying here. Shadow hikes up a blanket over their shoulders again and focuses on Vio’s evening breaths.