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The only thing Arcy registers as he wakes is the blinding panic racing through his body. They’re dead. There’s something heavy covering him, keeping him trapped. He needs to get out. He killed them.
Arcy struggles out from under the thick blanket and hits the ground hard, pain shooting through his knees as they connect with the wooden floor. It’s his fault. His hands are covered in blood. He killed them he killed them he–
He flinches as warm arms wrap around his waist. “Arcy? What’s going on?” Caena leans against him.
“I– they’re dead. It’s my fault.” His voice breaks. He can’t stop staring at his hands.
Caena slides one of her hands into his, twining their fingers together. “Who are you talking about?” She prods, squeezing his hand gently.
Blue hair and silver fur flashes behind his eyes, he can hear their desperate pleas for him to stop. “I don’t know.” He can’t see their faces, or give them names, but he knows it’s his fault.
“Okay… Well I’m right here, you haven’t done anything.” Caena is holding him, he’s in their bedroom, so why– “And Mai’s safe too, she’s asleep right now, remember? You put her to bed earlier.” Arcy does remember that.
“Y-yeah.” His family is safe. They're alive. But then who…
“It was just a bad dream, we’re all okay.” Caena brings their intertwined hands up to her face and presses a kiss to his knuckles. “Do you want to come back to bed?”
Arcy stares down at his free hand. The blood is gone. He notices that it’s shaking. He also notices that the floor is uncomfortable and that his knees hurt. “Okay.” Caena helps him up, and he finds that his hands aren’t the only trembling part of him.
A bad dream. That’s all it was. But it felt so real…
His whole body is shaking as he climbs back into bed, and his heart is still hammering in his chest, accompanied with the panic he’d woken up with. It’s stupid, nothing’s wrong, he shouldn’t be feeling like this. Everyone he loves is safe. He doesn’t even know if he was dreaming about real people.
Caena drags him out of his thoughts by pulling him close and cocooning the two of them in her wings. “You think you’ll go back to sleep?” She asks drowsily, already close to sleep again. Arcy feels a pang of guilt for waking her up over this.
He doesn't bring it up, letting out a shaky breath instead. “I don’t know.” Caena hums and presses a light kiss to his forehead. He listens to her breathing even out as she drifts to sleep.
Caena is alive, she’s okay. He can hear her breathing, feel her heartbeat. Everything is okay, even if Arcy’s body hasn’t got the memo yet. He takes a deep breath, trying to match Caena’s breathing.
It’s okay. It’s okay.
He does his best to force the blue and orange out of his mind.