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 Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:35 pm
“Aiden...” Amelia's eye twitched at the sudden shout, but she didn't react negatively to the boy's outburst other than to glance around and make sure no one would come over to their table to check on them. There were quite a few stares, but a practiced smile from the woman convinced the onlookers to ignore the pair in the back corner of the cafe after a couple moments. By the time she looked back to Aiden, he was already curled up in a ball in his seat, cradling his mug like it was a lifeline to warmer and happier times. Considering what little she knew of him, Amelia was willing to be that it was in some ways.
“Your nightmares come from something that actually happened to you, don't they?” she asked sadly, her expression softening as she kept her voice low. She knew what that was like; sometimes not even your dreams allowed you to escape your reality when it was horrible enough.
“Can I ask who 'he' is?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:49 pm
Always one to apologize when he knew he was wrong, Aiden whispered one to Amelia for the outburst. He couldn't help but glance around to see if anybody was still looking over here. Most of the on lookers had looked away, but few still watched with nosy stares. The boy looked away to blow gently into mug and take a sip of the warmth.
Instead of answering her question right away, Aiden took another breath. He didn't want to lash out at her again. It wasn't her fault the dreams were happening. Once he knew he wouldn't make an outburst, Aiden nodded and looked back to her. He sat up, moving to sit criss-cross in the booth. He set the mug back on the table. "My parents died in a car accident on the way to my actual grandparents' house." He paused and looked down at the middle of the table. The muffin was half eaten, but Aiden had saved that for Amelia. Gently, he pushed the plate toward her and then returned his hand around the mug.
With another deep breath he expanded on his story a little, as to explain the nightmares. "There was a deer in the road, by the time Dad saw it and slammed on the breaks it was too late. There was a patch of black ice and we didn't stop.." This time he stopped because his voice cracked, the tears in his eyes threatening to spill over again. He didn't want to cry, not in public, not in front of Amelia. Why was he telling her this anyways? She didn't care about it. She had just met him. Aiden sniffled and tried to take deep breaths. Hoping the tears would go away and he would stop being such a child. He didn't have that luxury anymore.
"He"? Aiden didn't even know. All he could do for a moment was shrug. He furrowed his brow, focusing on the table. What could he even say about the man. All Aiden knew was that it was a man, and he haunted his dreams every night. "He's just.. the bad guy. He scares me and hurts me. But it's just a dream.. right?" Aiden hoped it was just a dream, if it wasn't Aiden would break.
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CrispyWonderMint Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:08 pm
Amelia felt her heart break as Aiden finally relaxed enough to keep from drawing more attention to them, only to turn the tables with his tragic tale. Even though he didn't go into detail, he didn't have to. She understood pain and guilt well enough; many people did. But to lose your parents so young? She couldn’t even fathom that, not on a permanent scale. She shook her head as he pushed the muffin towards her, lifting her fingers up from the table to indicate she wasn't hungry. She could feel the presences that preferred to observe the world stir in anger, a bubbling maternal fury filling the back of Amelia's mind.
“He hurts you?” Her frown deepened as Amelia shook her head, trying to find some way to answer Aiden in a way that might help him. It sounded like he could use the glimmer of hope, but she didn't want to lie to him, either.
“Sometimes I think we have dreams for a reason, even the really bad and painful ones.” Her words came slowly as she reached for her mug again, watching the liquid ripple with the movement. “We don't always know why we have them, or we do and we can't escape them. Does that sound right to you?” She looked up from her mug, against focusing on Aiden and hoping he understood what she was saying.
“If I understand you right, your nightmares aren't the kind most people have, right? You have someone in them. An Oneiroi, I think? Maybe he's there because you still feel guilty about what happened.”
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